Straight Into Your Arms
by Nautical Paramour
Summary: Hermione is sent back in time by an unlikely person after Harry is killed during the final battle. She quickly learns that the past wasn't as rosy as everyone remembers. Can she make a better future for everyone with her knowledge of future events? And will she find love with the person she least suspects? A/U James/Hermione. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Hermione was so tired after her year on the run, but the one thing that had been pushing her forward was that it would be over soon. They'd spent months hiding out in that awful tent, with that horcrux weighing them down every step of the way, whispering wicked things in their ears.

They'd dealt with Ron leaving them in the lurch, which had left Hermione and Harry feeling despondent, but they kept pushing forward anyway. Harry had leaned on her more than ever during that time, but Hermione knew that she had to be strong for Harry...

After all, it was all for Harry. Each and every action Hermione had taken for the past few months had been for Harry. Getting attacked at the Ministry and in Godric's Hollow, taking back Ron into their fold of friendship, even though privately Hermione knew she'd never be able to forgive him for leaving, enduring torture under the wand of Bellatrix Lestrange, breaking into Gringott's and flying out on a dragon, destroying that cup…

She'd done it all for him, for him to succeed in his fight with Voldemort. And now…

Now was the first time that Hermione realized things might not end well. That Harry might not come back from the forest. The penseive memory that Snape had given him of Dumbledore seemed to suggest that at least, but Hermione had hoped. She knew that Harry needed to do this alone and so she let him wander into the Forbidden Forest, bidden by Voldemort's words.

Even during that time, when everyone else was gathering the dead, Hermione could not catch a little bit of rest. She had been too busy worrying about Harry. Ron was with the rest of the Weasleys, save Ginny who was missing, holding each other over Fred's death. Hermione knew it seemed a bit callous, but she couldn't even begin to think about mourning Fred yet.

Didn't they know that the fight wasn't over yet?

She'd been one of the first people out in the courtyard when Voldemort returned, surrounded by his Death Eaters. Hermione instantly saw that Harry was limp in Hagrid's arms. Dead.

But she was so tired. She wanted this to be over, finally, but now…

Neville was the first to move forward, but it wasn't to join the Death Eaters. Instead, he told the crowd that Harry's death didn't matter. That what they were fighting for was bigger than just Harry Potter. Hermione wished that she could believe that.

Instead, she was standing there, staring at Harry's corpse willing him to get up, just stand up, please don't be gone.

The spells started flying unexpectedly. Neville had gotten the sword of Gryffindor and was leading the charge. Hermione reacted on instinct, fighting her way back into the castle. Even though Harry was gone, she was certain that Voldemort was as close to mortal as he'd ever be. Maybe they could still win it, and then…

Hermione was shocked to see the bright purple curse of Dolohov's flying her way, from the aforementioned man's wand. She hadn't seen him since last summer and he looked more crazed than ever. For reasons she didn't really want to explain, he'd always been interested in hurting her. Steeling herself, she faced him and began dueling. Although she was exhausted, Dolohov was sloppy and Hermione soon had him on the defensive. Still, unable to cast the Killing Curse, no matter how hopeless her life seemed at the moment, Hermione sent a binding curse his way and she moved on.

She wasn't fighting much longer before Hermione was pulled into a hidden little alcove that she didn't know existed. Wand at the ready, she was surprised to come face to face with Ginny. Her normally luxurious red hair looked dull and messy and her brown eyes were bloodshot and puffy with tears. Hermione was surprised to see the normally vivacious girl appear so listless, but Hermione knew that she wouldn't recognize her own appearance in a mirror right now.

"Ginny, what's wrong? Why are you hiding in here?" Hermione shook her head at the questions she'd just asked, as if it weren't normal to be upset, scared right now while they were under attack by Death Eaters.

"Is Harry dead?" Ginny asked, breathing in air in great gasping breaths.

"Yes." Hermione said seriously, not wanting to sugarcoat it. There would be time for euphemisms later, but right now they needed to get out of Hogwarts alive.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione." Ginny said, looking incredibly guilty.

"It isn't your fault, Ginny. Harry knew what he was walking into." Hermione tried to comfort her, but really they didn't have time for this right now.

"He said that I should send you if Harry died. He promised me that I could have my Harry back." Ginny babbled. Hermione didn't understand. Ginny wasn't making any sense. "I'm so sorry, Hermione, I had to do it."

"What do you mean? Who told you this?" Hermione was so confused.

"Headmaster Snape." Ginny said, a fresh wave of tears coming from her eyes. "He told me that only you could make it right. You could fix everything."

"I don't understand what you mean, Ginny." Hermione thought that Ginny might have snapped a bit, the cost of losing so many friends and family members harming her psyche. If Hermione had not been so tired, she would have noticed that when Ginny pulled her into the alcove, she had slipped a long gold chain around her neck.

"I am sorry Hermione. Please forgive me." Ginny said looking forlorn. She held up the device and released it, the tension of the chain finally making itself known on Hermione's neck. It suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

Hermione's brain whirled into action as she suddenly realized what had happened. Ginny had handed her a time turner and it was already spinning, really spinning so fast that it was a blur of gold and white. Hermione then understood Ginny's word. Headmaster Snape had instructed Ginny to send Hermione back. Send her back where though?

And why would Snape have a plan for her specifically? What on earth could she possibly do to help? Didn't he know that Harry was the chosen one and she was just Hermione? Not to mention the fact that up until just a few hours ago, they'd all been quite convinced that Snape was the enemy. Ginny must have been desperate to trust such an odious man. Still, Hermione felt anger boiling up inside of her. Ginny wanted forgiveness? How could she just make a decision of such epic proportions for her?

Unwilling to go back in time – she'd already given so much of herself to the cause – Hermione grabbed at the time turner, but she was unable to stop the motion. All around her, time blurred as she was taken back and back, much farther back than she'd ever gone before. As she stood there, slowly losing energy, weak from lack of food and lack of blood, she realized she wasn't just going back hours or days or months. She was going back years.

* * *

The girl that had been discovered after the Hogwarts Graduation Ceremony of 1978 was a mystery. No one had ever seen her before, and she certainly wasn't a student. She'd been found lying in her own sick in the entrance hall of the school, unconscious, after the seventh year students and their families had finished up the ceremony and were on their way to enjoy one last feast in the Great Hall. Although no one knew who she was, she was wearing Headmaster Dumbledore's personal time turner, so she'd been taken up to the infirmary for care.

Fresh and excited from graduation, the marauders had been eager to make their mark on the world. James and Lily were engaged and looking for a house to move into after they were married at the end of the summer, Peter had moved in with his sick aunt to help take care of her, and the other guys didn't see him every often. Sirius and Remus got a flat together. Remus was happy to do odd jobs for Headmaster Dumbledore in the name of the Order of the Phoenix, meeting with different werewolf packs across the British Isles.

Sirius had gotten a job with the Auror's and was currently undergoing training. His first assignment had been to watch over Hogwart's newest patient, who was still unconscious. Sirius would sit with her and read in the infirmary, which he found terribly boring if he was honest. Still, he was able to leave in the evenings and spend time with his friends and his girlfriend, Marlene McKinnon.

Sometimes when Moody pulled him away on other assignments, the Order would assign someone else to look over the girl. Usually it was Remus, who was always happy to stop by Hogwarts for a warm meal and access to its famed library. Other times, during the full moon or when he was away traveling, the task would fall to James Potter, who was annoyed with the task of watching over a girl in a magically induced coma. What were they worried about? That she was going to wake up and try to get away?

Although they looked diligently, there was no way to identify the girl. Ollivander didn't remember selling a wand of her description, being that it was vinewood made it rather unique. A quick description of her was sent to the Headmasters of both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, but neither teacher had taught her before. Even though they didn't know who she was, there was a sense that she would be important to the Order of the Phoenix. She was undernourished and covered in curses, giving the sense that she had been fighting a battle. The time turner around her neck suggested that she was of the future. Perhaps she was an omen of events yet to come?

Thusly, the summer ticked by slowly, day after day, with its ups and downs and its fights and celebrations and its creation and its destruction. Hermione slept on, unaware of the turmoil and strife surrounding her, equally unaware of the happiness and joy surrounding her.

When it got to be September, the Order of the Phoenix began to discuss what should be done with her as students were returning for schooling and it didn't seem right to hold an unknown woman there. Especially, as it seemed she might be better served at St. Mungo's. They were better equipped to deal with this kind of trauma like the kind that she had.

Just when Headmaster agreed to move her to St. Mungo's if she didn't improve, she woke up. It was on the Nineteenth of September and Remus had been watching over her. Remus had been reading a rather enjoyable memoir of a famous retired auror, when she'd started to stir. At first, he'd thought it was his imagination, but he quickly came to the conclusion that she really was waking up.

In his rush to alert Poppy Pomfrey, he'd knocked over the little stool that he'd been sitting on. He let the plump witch know about her charges movements and then she was pushing him out into the hall and drawing the curtains around the small witch in the bed.

Deciding that he could be a bit more useful than he currently was, Remus hurried off in the direction of Headmaster Dumbledore's office to let him know of the recent developments.

* * *

A/N: So this is my new story, it's a James/Hermione story. **Everlastingtrueromance** was the person who requested this pairing, and I said if I had a good enough plot idea I would write it. I hope that this will be a good plot, original-ish idea, and that you enjoy it! I think it will be about 20 chapters long. I have it all planned out, but I am only about half way through writing it yet. I am planning on updating twice a week - Tuesdays and Thursdays. The title comes from the Catfish and the Bottlemen song "Cocoon" which is a great song and you should check it out, if you like!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter one - do you like it? And please be on the lookout for chapter two later this week.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Wow! Thanks so much for the responses! Big thanks to those who favorited or followed this story, and huge thanks to my reviewers from last chapter: Ashmo21, adrianiforever, OptimusPrimegirl123, Pwrmom2, twztdwildcat, everlastingtrueromace, Elle Ryder (Haha, I hope you like where I take it...I am not big on Ron myself), Lilith Faye Black, laumirot (I would love to read it! Please let me know when you post it!), unicornz . 334, and dixie326!

So here is chapter two - I would love to hear how you found it. Be on the lookout for chapter three next week. Oh, and to all my US readers - Happy Thanksgiving!

* * *

It was considerably later in the evening that Headmaster Dumbledore asked Remus to rejoin him in the infirmary of Hogwarts. His blue eyes were already twinkling in that slightly annoying way, so Remus knew that his former teacher was about to ask him for a favor. It wasn't a trouble, Remus thought, knowing that the Headmaster had done so much for him through the years. "Ah, Remus, just the man I wanted to see."

Remus came to look at the girl. Her wide eyes looked a bit haunted and he seemed to note a hint of recognition in their brown depths. Had they met before? No, he was certain that they hadn't.

"Remus, this is Hermione Granger." Dumbledore made the introductions. "And Hermione, this is Remus Lupin, a former student of mine and a current associate. I believe you are both about the same age."

"Pleased to meet you." Remus said with a forced smile to this girl on the bed. Was Dumbledore trying to set them up?

Hermione didn't say anything, but it seemed like a bit of happiness was bleeding back into her face, although he could tell that she was feeling dreadfully uncomfortable.

"Remus, I was just remembering that you might have an available bedroom in your flat, seeing as Mr. Pettigrew is away tending to his elderly aunt. I was wondering if you might have room for Miss Granger to stay with you for a while, until she can get her bearings here and the Order can find her more permanent accommodations." Dumbledore asked, meaning laced in his words.

So she was some kind of friend of the Order, then. "I uh, yes that would be lovely. It might encourage Sirius to tidy up a bit more." It was not odd for Dumbledore to ask for favors, but a favor of this magnitude was unusual. This Hermione must be very important to the Order. He wondered how long it would take until he had an explanation.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore said, clapping his hands together. "Well, Miss Granger here has just been discharged. I will leave you to it. Feel free to use the Floo in Poppy's office." Then the meddling old man left the pair of them alone in the hospital wing.

"Well, if you'll just gather your things…" Remus said standing over her, before realizing that she was wearing everything that she had. He felt himself surging with empathy, thinking of how he would be equally destitute if it wasn't for his friends. "Er..I guess you don't have anything to gather. Don't worry, we'll get you sorted." He told her with a smile, before leading her towards the Floo.

Hermione followed him through the floo and was surprised to step out the other side on a very muggle looking flat. It was a very nice flat, the walls a stark white with a large fireplace in the living area and a galley kitchen off of that. It was obvious though that several bachelors lived there, based on the amount of clutter around the place. Still, it was homey and Hermione found herself further relaxing.

"Thank you for your hospitality." She said quietly, realizing that it was the first thing she'd said to Remus. So far, she had been content to just observe her future professor. He was so different in this time and she could tell that she made him nervous. She wondered if he wasn't very used to spending time with girls.

He smiled brightly at her. "No trouble at all, Hermione. Come on, I'll show you to your room." He led her down a hallway, and opened a door to a relatively empty room, save the bed in the corner. There wasn't even a dresser or nightstand to be seen. "Peter was supposed to move in here, but like Dumbledore said, he is taking care of his aunt."

"It's lovely." She said with a sad smile on her face, thinking about Peter Pettigrew. Should she warn them? She knew the ramifications of meddling with time. She decided not to say anything, trying to keep things untouched until she could talk to Dumbledore about returning to her time. "In any case, it's loads better than the infirmary." She joked with him.

Remus laughed with her as well. He'd had his share of time in the infirmary and was inclined to agree with her. "And your bathroom is just down the hall. You'll share with Sirius, but I promise he isn't all that untidy."

Hermione nodded and wondered when she would get to meet Sirius. She was excited to meet this younger Sirius.

"Well," Remus said, leading her back into the living area. "I think that the other guys were going to meet at the pub down the road, if you wanted to go. I mean, I know you've only just gotten up and about, so I'll understand if you want to pass."

Hermione thought about it. She had felt restless since she'd woken up, and wanted nothing more than to get out and about. And, she was desperately curious to meet the others as well. "No, that might be nice. I've just been lying on my arse all summer apparently."

"Well, shall we go then?" Remus asked, moving to grab his coat from the little closet by the door.

Hermione looked down at her attire. Her jumper was bloody and dirty and even ripped in places. She couldn't go out into public like this. "Er, Remus, do you have a shirt I could borrow? I know I could just charm it clean, but…" She looked down at her shoes.

"Oh, of course, silly me." Remus felt so silly for not thinking of it. "Come on, I think I have something that would fit you." He lead her into his bedroom, which Hermione found done in a please palate of taupe and green, and he riffled through his dresser until he found a t-shirt that would fit her. It was a navy blue Puddlemere United shirt. "Sorry, I've haven't worn it since fourth year, so I figured…"

"It's fine, Remus." Hermione said, just grateful to have something to wear. "I'll just go change then." Hermione walked into her little room and stripped out of her stained jumper, leaving it on the bed. She then put on the t-shirt. It was a little bit loose still, but it would do. Besides, it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone with her looks.

She thought of Ron and how upset he would be at her wearing anything but Gryffindor or Chudley Cannons orange.

Stepping out into the living room, she found Remus waiting for her. "Ready to go?" She asked him, happy to follow him out of the flat into the hallway and down the five flights of stairs out onto the street. The pub was just right around the corner from the flat. "Why did you decide to live in muggle London?" Hermione asked, surprised. Sirius had never said anything about it.

"Hmm, well, I guess it seemed like an adventure. It had the fireplace, so it was easy to set up the floo connection and it's fairly close to the ministry." Remus said, holding the door open for her.

Hermione was surprised to find the bar mostly empty, but she quickly spotted Sirius. He was much better looking than she expected. He did have sort of an arrogant face, but his grey eyes were devastating and his shaggy black hair made her want to run her hands through it. Maybe he hadn't been exaggerating that much when he would tell Harry and Ron stories about his youth. "Moony got himself a bird!" His boisterous voice boomed across the bar. Hermione smiled at seeing Remus's pink cheeks.

"Ah, Sirius, perhaps you'll remember Hermione? You met her at school." Remus said, meaning laced in his tone, leading her over to the two boys.

Sirius's eyes got comically wide, recognizing her. "Ah, so you're awake then?" He said, scratching his chin.

"Yes, I woke up this morning." Hermione said quietly.

"Hermione, this is Sirius." Remus introduced them. "Dumbledore has asked if we wouldn't mind playing host to Hermione here for a while, while they tie up some loose ends. I've put her in Peter's room." Hermione almost wanted to giggle at how quickly they were willing to accept a stranger into their flat. But, she supposed the war was still in its early days, and they didn't know the level of distrust that was sure to come in the following three years.

Sirius nodded. "Great, welcome." Sirius wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her over to the table they were set up at. "Hermione, allow me to introduce you to our other roommate, James."

James smiled brightly and Hermione felt her heart stop. She didn't know why she hadn't thought about the fact that she would be meeting Harry's parents, but here she was. Everyone said that Harry looked exactly like his father, but with his mother's eyes, but Hermione had to disagree.

James did possess messy black hair that just wouldn't seem to lie flat, but he had a cocky sort of grin on his face. James also seemed to have a bit more of a developed musculature, with broad shoulders. Harry had always been slender, Hermione thought it was likely a remnant of his childhood he'd never be able to correct. Behind his round glasses, James had bright hazel eyes. But the biggest difference was the confident way he seemed to carry himself, something Harry could never hope to possess. "James." He said, holding out his hand.

Hermione took the offered hand with a meek smile. "Hermione." She said, sitting down across from him. Hermione looked around the bar, where Sirius and Remus were ordering drinks. She felt James's eyes on her face, studying her. Wanting to break the silence that had settled between them, Hermione decided to talk first. "So, where is Lily? Did she pop off the loo?"

James's face changed from genial to annoyed in an instance. "I have no idea where Lily is. I definitely wouldn't invite her _here_." He said, in a harsh tone.

Hermione was taken aback by the sudden outburst, but decided he must just be joking. "Come on, you should be married by now." Hermione said, teasing him. She knew that Harry's parents had gotten married shortly after they left Hogwarts.

James was getting more upset. "I don't know where you got the idea…I will never, ever marry Lily Evans." He was adamant and it had Hermione convinced.

Suddenly, the atmosphere was pounding as she realized what she was doing. Here she was, sent back in time after Harry had died, she was spending time with his father and friends, all of whom were also dead. But here James Potter was telling her that there never even would be a Harry Potter. It was suffocating to think that the friend she had devoted the last seven years to didn't even exist anymore.

Unable to think about it anymore she pushed back from the table and walked to the bar. "Hi, could I please have a whiskey and ginger ale." Her dad had ordered her one once at a wedding they attended, but Hermione had never really drank before. Still, she was an adult and decided that it was now time to indulge.

Sirius and Remus looked surprised, but obliged, carrying their lagers back to the table to rejoin James. If they noted the icy way the other two regarded each other they didn't say anything. Instead, they began a discussion about the upcoming Quidditch season, which James was happy to participate in.

Hermione sat on the periphery, drinking her whiskey and giggling every now and then at the things they said. They were so young and happy and she was trying desperately to feel young and happy herself. She drank another and another as the pain that had settled in her chest at Harry's fate seemed to disappear, replaced by warmth and nothing. Finally, she felt so dizzy, she knew that she had to leave. "I'm just going to head to the loo."

When she stood her head seemed to spin and she had to grab onto the table for support. Once she was level, she sauntered off in the direction of the bathrooms, the three men watching her make her tipsy topsy way over. Sirius sighed, before finishing the rest of his beer. "I will go take her back to the flat. I should have spotted a lightweight like that."

Remus scoffed. "Come on, Sirius, she only just woke up from being in the infirmary all summer. I don't even know if she ate anything today. Plus, you can tell she's been through a lot."

Sirius shrugged and followed her into the bathroom, ignored the wolf whistles of an old drunk sitting at the bar.

When he entered the little room, he found her sitting on the floor of one of the little cubicles, puking her guts out. "Hermione, it's Sirius. I've come to walk you home." He heard the door click open and saw her pitiful face, tear tracks down her cheeks. "Do you think you can walk back?"

Hermione shook her head in shame.

"How about just out of the bar?" Sirius asked. Hermione bit her lip and then nodded, letting him pick her up off the floor. He put his arm around her shoulders, letting her lean on him, and guide her steps out of the bathroom and out of the pub. Once they were safely down the mews behind the bar, he apparated them back to the flat.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Sorry about last chapter! I meant for it to be a cliffhanger, and not quite so confusing. This chapter will clear up the questions about James and Lily's engagement! Let me know what you think about them parting ways.

Thanks to those of you who favorited and followed after last chapter! Big thanks to my reviewers: PhoenixChanger, winxgirl1997, twztdwildcat, Bentears, The Butterfly Dreamer, unicornz . 334, Pwrmom2, Guest, Smithback, chrisseattheend, everlastingtrueromance, and pianomouse! You guys rock - really, this story is getting so much more interest than I expected :)

Please let me know what you thought of chapter three and be on the lookout for chapter four later this week.

* * *

When Sirius got Hermione back to the flat, apparating had taken its toll on her body, causing her stomach to riot. He ushered her into their shared bathroom and held her hair back as she retched into the toilet. He sat with her on the floor of the bathroom for over two hours, gently rubbing her back.

Hermione had been all tears, her previous joy evaporated in the stark white tile of the bathroom. "Harry." She'd whispered again and again. "He's dead and it's all my fault and now he can't come back." Sirius had just shushed her, telling her everything would work out, but then she'd remember the angry way James had looked at her and told her that he'd never get married to Lily.

Once she'd finished getting sick, Sirius had guided her into her new room and helped her take off her jeans and tshirt. He'd loaned her one of his white cotton undershirts and Hermione had been too drunk to care if Sirius saw her without a bra on. He tucked her in bed and brought her a big glass of water. "Now every time you wake up, I want you to take a big drink of this. As much as you can without getting sick."

Hermione had dutifully nodded before laying her head on the unfamiliar pillow. Soon she drifted off to sleep despite the spinning feeling that overtook her every time she closed her eyes.

* * *

When Hermione woke the next day, her head was pounding and her mouth was dry, but the thought of drinking the water next to the bed made her want to throw up. The night previous came back to her in waves. Sirius had taken such good care of her. He'd been so trusting and unlike the paranoid man she'd come to know at Grimmauld Place in her fifth year.

They really all were too trusting for her liking, but seeing as they hadn't lived through a war, it was understandable. She thought about Remus Lupin on the lawn of the Burrow demanding answers from Harry to ascertain that he was legitimate. Harry…

The thought of her best friend left a bitter taste in her mouth. She remembered again how adamant James had been. What had happened between him and Lily? Could she repair the damage? What had changed this time? Had her presence in this time already caused ripples? She couldn't fathom how as she'd just been lying unconscious in Hogwarts for months.

The swirling thoughts in her head had her feeling dizzy again, so she pushed them from her mind. She hadn't heard any movement in the apartment, so the lads must be out. She knew instinctively that if she could just get something in her stomach, she'd feel a lot better. She stood up and was awash in dizziness. She steadied herself, before making her way to the kitchen, not caring that she was in Sirius's undershirt and her knickers.

As she wobbled her way to the kitchen, she was startled by a voice in the living room. "So sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up."

Hermione turned to see James laying on the couch with a smirk on his face – a smirk that would be utterly out of place on Harry's face, but just seemed to fit on his. She tried to ignore the pleased face he made as he looked at her body. "What time is it?"

James turned his attention to the clock before standing and making his way to the kitchen. "Three p.m. Here, have a cracker or two." He handed her a box of saltine crackers, which she was happy to take.

"Where are the others?" Hermione asked, a bit uncomfortable to be alone with James Potter, when he wasn't her biggest fan.

"Sirius and Remus are out at work. They won't be back until later." James told her, watching her closely as she nibbled on the crackers. Despite her stomach's initial protests, having a bit of food was helping her immensely. "Do you feel well enough to eat some more?" Hermione thought about it before nodding.

"Alright, go get dressed, and then we can do to the chip shop down the road." James said, a tentative smile on his face. Seeing Hermione's reluctance he continued. "Come on, it will make you feel loads better."

"Fine." Hermione told him before returning to her little room. She put her jeans back on and Remus's old t-shirt before straightening her hair. The ponytail Sirius had given her the night before left her hair with much to be desired. Satisfied that she looked alright enough to be seen in public, she went back out the living room.

"Is that the only shirt you have?" James asked, surprised.

"Yes, Remus gave it to me yesterday. My jumper was ripped." Hermione said, embarrassed at her lack of possessions. The three boys had no idea that they were taking in a stray.

James said dismissively, "Well, we can stop at a store on the way back. I think there is a department store not too far away from here."

Hermione followed him out the door and down the stairs again. "I don't have any money." Hermione told him pitifully.

"Don't worry about it. I've got more galleons than I could spend in twenty lifetimes." James told her with a small smile. Sensing she was still reluctant to take him up on his offer, he added, "If you want, you can pay me back once you get settled." Hermione thanked him.

By the time they arrived at the chip shop and ordered their fish and chips, James felt bad for how nervous she was around him. He knew that he had snapped at her at the bar when she asked about Lily, and she didn't deserve it. Also, Sirius had come to talk to him and Remus after he'd put her to bed and told her how much she'd been crying about someone called Harry, who was dead. It made him feel pretty awful for the way he'd acted.

Staring at her over their haddock and chips, James decided to break the ice. "Sorry about the way I snapped at you last night…it's just…Lily is kind of a sore topic for me, still."

Hermione bit her lip and stared at him. "What happened?" She asked quietly.

Looking into her big brown eyes made James want to spill of his secrets. "We were engaged, and set to get married in August, but she has this friend…Snape, who is a really awful individual." James started. Hermione seemed to know what he meant even though he was sure she'd never have met someone awful like Snivellus before. "Anyway, he came to the Order and repented for being a Death Eater, saying he'd made a mistake. Lily forgave him immediately, and Dumbledore did too."

Hermione nodded patiently. "Dumbledore is a good judge of character."

"Well, Snape has always been in love with Lily, since they were kids, I think." James said, a dark look on his face. "She started spending all of her time with him, saying that he'd been through so much. I asked her to stop seeing him alone and she refused." James smiled bitterly. "In the end, I told her, it was me or him, to pick someone. She picked Snape."

Hermione grimaced. "I am sorry, James. That's awful." She remembered when Ron had tried something similar with him and Harry, and that she had chosen Harry.

"I don't think she really believed I would follow through with it." James told her, staring down at his fish. Lily's decision still burned him. "I think, now, it might have been for the best. Lily obviously didn't actually love me."

"You don't know that." Hermione told him desperately. She needed James and Lily to get together so she could have Harry back. "Maybe she was just conflicted. I mean…her and Snape have been friends for a really long time."

James looked at her, with her little freckles across her cheeks. "No, I think Lily just likes broken things. I'd asked her out a thousand times and she told me no every time. Then my parents died. I was so upset and was kind of depressed at school. It was a lot to deal with, even with Sirius's support. Then Lily asked _me_ out. I thought I'd won the lottery. But now, I think she just wanted to make me better."

Hermione could understand that. She knew people who were kind of like that. "Maybe it was just a coincidence."

"No," James shook his head. "No, she was friends with Snape before school, and then she gravitated to Remus, even though she didn't know what his problem was, and now that she's gone back to Snape once he's a repentant little Death Eater." Hermione made no mention that she already knew what Remus's problem was.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, James looked up to see that Hermione had finished her food. "Feeling better?" He asked with a wide smile.

"Yeah." Hermione said with an embarrassed smile. "Merlin, I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't worry." James said, empathetically. "It happens to everyone."

"Oh yeah?" Hermione asked, daring him to tell her his story.

"Yeah, in fifth year, the four of us split a bottle of firewhiskey. I got so sick. Little did I know, Sirius had been sneaking drinks for years, Remus … has an unusual metabolism, and Peter has a bit of weight on me. Still, my friends took care of me and made sure I didn't get in trouble with Professor McGonagall."

Hermione smiled, thinking of what Professor McGonagall would think if she'd seen Hermione last night. Then she remembered that Professor McGonagall had no idea who she was. By the time she'd finished her fish and chips, she did feel loads better and her hangover was finally subsiding. Still, she didn't think she'd be drinking whiskey again in a long time.

"Well, shall we take you shopping?" James asked before leading Hermione from the store. "And here I thought you were a Puddlemere fan." James said, a bit disappointed.

Hermione laughed. "No, I don't really support a professional team. I guess my friends supported the Chudley Cannons."

James looked aghast. "The Cannons? But they are so bad!"

Hermione giggled, but her smile quickly faded at the thought of Harry again. She needed a plan and she needed to get back to her time as quickly as possible before anything else changed. She would need to tell Professor Dumbledore everything, especially what she'd been through in the last year. "I really need to talk to Dumbledore." She told James quietly.

He seemed to understand her darkened mood and clapped her around the shoulder, pulling her to his body in a comforting mood. "We can send him an owl tonight and get something set up for tomorrow."

Hermione nodded and was surprised to see that he'd taken her to a Marks and Spencer. She felt a little bit at home and wandered about the aisles, James following behind her, intrigued. She picked out a couple of basic blouses and jeans, but she was putting off getting her lingerie with her shadow tailing her quite so closely. "Can you go look about somewhere else?" She asked him, standing near the women's section.

James looked behind her and saw the racks of bras and knickers. "Aww, you aren't going to let me help you pick out knickers?" He asked with a pout that caught her completely off guard. Harry was so awkward around her when she did anything that even hinted at her femininity, and she could be wrong but she thought James was flirting with her!

Hermione blushed. "Absolutely not!"

"Come on, you know I already saw you in them this morning." He said with wagging eyebrows. His hazel eyes were bright and inviting, asking her to join in on the joke.

Hermione felt her face grow even hotter seeing an older woman shaking her head at the pair of teenagers. "James! Just, go look at something else. _Please._ " She insisted. "I will come and find you when I am finished."

"Alright." He told her with that same arrogant smirk she'd seen earlier. "But if you'd like my opinion, I think that you'd look quite fetching in that black lace set." He winked before walking off, leaving Hermione standing by herself, with her jaw dropped.

* * *

When they returned home later that night, Sirius was up in the living room, reading a book. Hermione smiled, thinking of the older Sirius, and how he never wanted to read any books in his family library. "Sirius Black reading? Who would have thought?" She asked him with a smirk.

Sirius's eyes furrowed. "What makes you say that?"

Hermione suddenly remembered that she wasn't meant to know him yet, and backpedaled quickly. "Oh, I just mean, you seem to be all play and no work kind of guy."

Sirius was pacified with that. "Oh, yeah. This is a work assignment. Recognizing the signs of the imperius curse."

Hermione sat down next to him and set her Marks and Spencer's bag on the coffee table, while James headed to the kitchen. Clearing her throat, she looked at him guiltily. "Sirius, I just wanted to say...thank you for taking such good care of me last night. And for lending me your t-shirt."

Sirius patted her knee. "No trouble at all kitten. It happens to us all now and again. And don't worry about the shirt. You can keep it." Sirius pulled her bag towards him. "Now, just what did you get that the store? Ooh! Black lace? I wouldn't have guessed that at _all_ , kitten." He teased her giving a her a wink.

At hearing Sirius's words, James stuck his head out of the kitchen and gave Hermione a look. "You minx! I knew you would take my advice!"

Hermione blushed, grabbing her new bra back from Sirius and stuffing it in the bag again. She couldn't believe that Harry's dad had just called her a _minx_. This was going to be a lot different than she imagined.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Wow! The response to this story just continues to blow me away. People have been asking if James will realize that Hermione's never met Lily. Let's just assume that the Potters would have put a notice in the Daily Prophet, so he assumes that she knows about Lily from that.

I recently started watching Peaky Blinders and I love it so far! Have any of you seen it? The actress who is Narcissa Malfoy is in it. In other news, my Dramione story Can't Change The Way I Am is now complete, so go check that out! Also, I will be posting the first chapter of a four part Christmas story tomorrow called Little Bit. It's a Sirius/Hermione story and I would love it if you checked it out!

Thank you to everyone who favorited/followed after last chapter. Big thanks to my reviewers from last chapter: lozzy035, ndavis77, Pwrmom2, SereniteRose, FleurSuoh, HMRoberts, winxgirl1997, xFireflyEyes, everlastingtrueromance, hollowg1rl, twztdwildcat, Guest, smithback, and blackcreed11! You guys rock.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter four and be on the lookout for chapter five next week!

* * *

Hermione sat across the desk from Dumbledore, politely sipping on a bit of ginger tea that she didn't actually want. Dumbledore had been happy to arrange a meeting with her the day previous though he didn't ask what it was about. James had given her some floo powder and sent her on her merry way, and Hermione had been surprised by the uninterested way that Dumbledore was treating her once she arrived.

Is this how Harry had felt in fifth year when Dumbledore had ignored him?

Finally, when she couldn't take the tea and biscuits and pleasantries any more, she finally broached the topic at hand. "I have to go back."

"Back where?" Dumbledore asked looking at her over his glasses.

"Back to my future, of course." Hermione said, annoyed. Hermione had told him about what had happened when she woke up. She'd told him her friend was instructed by the Headmaster to send her back, back so many years, and that the war was still raging on, in its death throes.

"There is absolutely no way for you to go back, I'm afraid." Dumbledore told her, his blue eyes twinkling.

"But, the time turner was unharmed in my journey here, so it should be no trouble to send me back." Hermione argued.

Dumbledore sat staring at her silently for a while. "Miss Granger, have you ever used a time turner before?"

"Yes, in my third year I was authorized use of a time turner to take additional classes." Hermione told him, letting a bit of pride bleed into her tone. She knew it was unusual to give a fourteen year old a time turner.

"Then, you will of course remember that time turners can send you back in time, but they cannot send you forward." Dumbledore told her, giving her a critical look.

"Yes, but you are the greatest wizard of our time, I mean surely you will have some idea-"

Dumbledore cut her off by raising his hand. "And, further, you will know that time turners are only meant to send someone back a matter of hours. Sending someone back twenty years is unheard of, you are lucky to even be alive right now." Hermione sighed, knowing that he was right. "We can't risk sending you through even more years. It would kill you."

"But, so many things have already changed." Hermione said, tears welling in her eyes. "Just by me being here, unconscious. James and Lily were supposed to get married and in two years, they should have given birth to a son called Harry. He was my best friend."

Dumbledore tried to look sympathetic, but it didn't come across right. "I am very sorry Miss Granger." Hermione wasn't sure that Dumbledore understood human feeling at that moment.

"There was a prophecy about Harry, and Voldemort tried to kill him. Lily Potter was to sacrifice her life for her son, and thus the Killing Curse that Voldemort casts reflects back to him, leaving him weakened." Hermione continued, the whole story bubbling up from within her.

"Please, Miss Granger, sharing with me the events of the future could be catastrophic." Dumbledore tried to stop her.

"But I thought you said that there was no possible way to send me back to the future?" Hermione cocked her head to the side.

"That is correct." Dumbledore conceded.

"So then I am the only person who knows what the future would hold. I am the only one who would realize if anything was different." Hermione told him, a determined look on her face. "My timeline has already been irrevocably destroyed, so I am going to do everything in my power to ease the suffering that will result in this war."

Dumbledore frowned. "The war is still going on in your time."

Hermione nodded solemnly. Had he not believed her before? "It was supposed to be over. I've spent the past year on the run. We were looking for horcruxes."

Hermione watched as a dark kind of fascination and horror swept over Dumbledore's face. "Voldemort made horcruxes? More than one?"

Hermione nodded solemnly. "Seven, actually. But I think that at this point he only has five." Hermione took a moment to think of the situation. "The good news is that I know where most of them should be. The hard part will be finding something to destroy them with."

"Well, what did you use to destroy them previously?" Dumbledore finally seemed to be taking the situation seriously.

"Well, basilisk venom for most of them. And fiendfyre." Hermione told him. "The chamber of secrets was opened in my second year and my friend Harry killed the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor. Because it is goblin made-"

"It would be impregnated with the venom." Dumbledore finished for her. "But how do we get the basilisk venom now?"

"Well, Harry was a parselmouth, so, unless you know one of those, I think we will need to start tracking down some basilisk venom." Hermione told him with a serious look on her face.

"Tell me Miss Granger, how are you at potions?" Dumbledore asked her after a silent moment.

"Quite good, if I don't say so myself." Hermione told him. She remembered the fascinated way that Professor Slughorn had treated her brilliance with potions in her sixth year. Had that really been only a year ago?

"We need to begin establishing an identity for you here." Dumbledore said. "You'll need N.E.W.T. scores of course. How soon do you think you could take them?"

Hermione pursed her lips. Did she even care about her N.E.W.T.s anymore? She hadn't thought about studying in over a year, she'd been too concerned with staying alive. Now, they seemed so mundane, so trivial, compared to what she'd faced the last year. "A week, I suppose." Hermione told him.

Dumbledore ran his fingers over his long white beard. "Once we've established your N.E.W.T. scores, I can get you a job making some freelance potions for the ministry. I was going to have Horace do it, but he complains so much already about just brewing for the infirmary. It will be a good way for you to make money, and it shouldn't raise too many eyebrows if you begin making inquiries to purchase some basilisk venom."

Hermione was surprised. That was very charitable of him. "Thank you, sir. That would be acceptable to me." Really, it was for the best. If she was stuck here forever, she would need to start establishing a life here. And that meant finding a job and assimilating.

"If anyone asks, you will tell them that you attended Koldovstorez in Russia for your schooling. The headmaster there owes me a favor and he will make up some papers for you. Plus, they are known for producing world renowned potioneers." Dumbledore explained.

Hermione smiled. She'd always wanted to know more about the mysterious Koldovstorez school. She wondered if there was a book on it, like _Hogwarts, A History_. When she asked Dumbledore, he told her there was not. It was probably for the best. This way, no one would be able to check facts that she would come up with.

"So where are these horcruxes?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't think that we should move them until we have a way of destroying them. Right now, Voldemort thinks they're perfectly safe." Hermione cautioned. "Not to mention they are horrible for your psyche. They whisper horrid things and make you believe them." Hermione told him with a shudder, remembering the heavy weight of the locket around her neck.

"If that is the way that you think we should handle this." Dumbledore told her, clearly annoyed with the way this was turning out. "But, the Order of the Phoenix will have objections to the delay. The longer he has those, the longer he is invulnerable. Perhaps if you could give us some detail, as a token of your knowledge, it would placate them."

Hermione nodded. "The lost Diadem of Ravenclaw is here in the school." Hermione watched as Dumbledore's eyes opened wide at the thought that Hogwarts was housing a bit of Voldemort's soul. "There is a ring, I think it belonged to Marvolo Gaunt. I don't know where it is, because you found and destroyed it last time."

Dumbledore's eyes gleamed in surprise and perhaps a bit of pride. "Go on."

"A locket that belonged to Slytherin. I don't know where that is, but I know who will know its location. He won't know where it is until sometime this school year. A diary belonging to Tom Riddle, which is likely in the possession of Lucius Malfoy. And Hufflepuff's Cup, which is likely in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Is there anything else that I should know about?" Dumbledore asked her pointedly. He seemed unsurprised by her inclusion of the two names.

Hermione bit her lip. "I don't know how this is all going to pan out, because of how everything has changed." She took a big breath. "Lily and James Potter had gone into hiding once the prophecy was revealed. Their location was revealed by their secret keeper, a friend that they thought they could trust."

"Sirius Black?" Dumbledore asked, with surprise.

Hermione shook her head. Hermione was aghast by how quickly he'd supplied Sirius's name. "No, it was Peter Pettigrew."

Dumbledore looked at her with complete disbelief. "Impossible. Peter is just a simple boy, not a Death Eater."

Hermione shook her head. "I know it might not sound plausible, but that _is_ what happened. Pettigrew is undoubtedly a Death Eater."

"I am sorry, Miss Granger, but this must be another thing that is changing. Just like the way that Mr. Potter and Miss Evans' relationship crumbled." Dumbledore argued back.

Hermione frowned, but knew that she had no way of proving Pettigrew's allegiance, especially since Dumbledore did make a point. They never really knew when Pettigrew went over to the other side in her original time. But, she thought, the timing of his taking care of a sick aunt was suspicious. "If that's the way you want to handle it." Hermione finally agreed, quietly.

The silence that settled between the pair of them was oppressive, and Hermione didn't want to stay there any more. "Well, sir, I better get back. I need to start studying for my N.E.W.T.s so that we can get the ball rolling on the basilisk venom."

"I will owl you when I get the testing date." Dumbledore nodded, before walking her to the fireplace, where she flooed home.

When she stepped back into the flat that the marauders owned, she was greeted by three laughing faces. "She returns!" Sirius laughed. "How did it go?"

"Well, do you think you could help me study for my N.E.W.T.s?" Hermione asked sheepishly. "Dumbledore has arranged for me to take them in a week."

"Of course, Moony helped us all with our N.E.W.T.s revision." James told her brightly. "But, why didn't you take exams at school?"

Hermione gave them a small smirk. "Well, I did, but the British Ministry is having some trouble transferring my records over from Koldovstorez."

"Koldovstorez? Isn't that in Russia?" Remus asked her, he was the most surprised out of all of them.

"Yeah, that's where I went to school." Hermione told them with a smile. Hermione was surprised. This was the most any of them had asked about her. They didn't ask why she was here or who she was or why she needed to stay with them. In a way, it endeared them to her even more. "Listen, guys, I am really tired after my talk with Dumbledore. See you in the morning?" She turned and headed to her bedroom, smirking at hearing her three new roommates whispering at the mysterious new girl they were living with.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

With much help from Remus's revision tables, Hermione had been able to complete her N.E.W.T.s with flying colors. Well, she hadn't done as well as she'd expected, but she'd still received mostly Os with a smattering of Es. Her new roommates were impressed with her results, and so was the Ministry.

The night that she got her scores back was the night that the boys were already planning a little going away party for Remus, as he was set to be gone for a few weeks, if not months. Sirius had baked a lopsided chocolate cake, which was still very delicious, but it didn't look very pretty. They'd picked up some takeaway from a little Thai restaurant a few blocks from their flat and enjoyed some champagne.

When Hermione had asked Remus where he was going, he gave her an awkward, stilted answer, and without thinking, she had blurted out, "But you are going to meet with the werewolf packs, right?"

Remus, Sirius and James had all gaped at her, until Hermione realized again that she shouldn't _know_ about Remus's condition. James and Sirius both began arguing and insisting that it wasn't them that had told her, and to smooth things over, Hermione blushed and asked them. "No one told me! I didn't know it was meant to be a secret, I just figured it out on my own."

Remus stared at her for a long while, but then finally nodded. With that awkwardness cleared, the conversation progressed to what she was going to do with her time now that she had gotten her papers in from Russia.

With her new credentials, she had began to brew potions for Dumbledore's contact, and had already accrued enough money to pay James back for her clothes and get a few pieces of furniture for her room.

She was confined to the flat most of the time, which meant that she spent almost all of her time with James, seeing Sirius most evenings. The reason that James was always home with her was that he didn't actually have a job. Hermione had been a bit appalled to learn the Professor Snape actually was right about James Potter. He really was lazy and arrogant.

When she asked him how he could be content to laze about all day, he'd just shrugged his shoulder and repeated his claim about being richer than a skunk. Hermione had scoffed and thought that even if she had a lot of money, she would want to actually do something, like read all of the published books in England.

In the days that they spent together, they got on each other's nerves, but always seemed to end up making it up to one another. It seemed that with James Potter, he would act recklessly and then apologize later. Not too unlike Harry, Hermione had mused.

Yesterday had been particularly nasty, and they spent the whole day bickering over a bit light reading Hermione had asked him to do. She'd given him a couple of books she was able to track down on horcruxes and basilisk venom. He'd refused outright, saying they were dark texts, but Hermione hadn't backed down. She told him it was important for the Order. He'd begrudgingly agreed, only to be caught with a Quidditch magazine in the book!

Hermione had torn into him when she'd found it. "I can't believe you can't do this one small thing! Honestly, it's like I'm dealing with a child."

He'd snipped back at her that he wasn't in school any longer and that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to.

"Godric, how you ended up in Gryffindor is a bloody mystery to me!" Hermione had shouted at him. Immediately she'd felt bad seeing the absolutely gutted look he had on his face. Still, she was too stubborn and too mad to apologize at the time.

His hurt materialized into anger and he gave her a cold look before asking. "What are you even still doing here? Dumbledore said you only had to stay with us until you got your feet on the ground, and clearly you've done just that."

When she got back into her room, she felt bad about what she said; remembering how awful it was to be asked what she was doing in Gryffindor when clearly she was meant to be a Ravenclaw. She was also determined to begin looking for her own flat, as soon as possible. She had been so comfortable here that she'd clearly overstayed her welcome.

Now, though, she was holed up in her room, too embarrassed to come out. The potions that she was working on where simmering away and would stay as such for the rest of the weekend. She really wanted to get one of the books she'd given to James to read herself, but she didn't want to go out and face him.

That was, of course, until she heard his expletive laden outburst in the other room. Fearing that something really bad might have happened, Hermione jumped up from her bed and ran into the living room, to see James ruminating over a copy of the Daily Prophet. "What is it?"

James looked up at Hermione to see her with her wand drawn in a defensive pose, clearly concerned. "Oh, there was a Death Eater attack during a Quidditch match."

Hermione sat down and held her hand out for the paper. "Oh, that's awful." She murmured.

"That's only the half of it! They canceled the whole season!" James whined, a little pout on his face.

Hermione couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up in her chest at the pitiful look on his face. "Is that all?"

" _Is that all?_ " He mocked her in a terrible imitation of her voice. "Sometimes I can't believe you are a witch Hermione. I look forward to Quidditch all summer only just to have it canceled after a few games! It's torture."

Hermione did feel bad for him all of a sudden. She knew that he deserved to have happiness and if Quidditch made him happy then who was she to begrudge him? Suddenly, she had an idea. "Come on, let's go out, I have an idea."

James looked up at her, surprised at her sudden change of demeanor. "Oh, what's the point?"

"We've both been holed up in here for too long, hard at work. Okay, well, I've been hard at work." She told him with a smirk. "We deserve to have a little enjoyment, and I have a surprise for you. Just go and pick out a blue shirt."

James dutifully walked into his room and came out wearing a blue shirt, just as Hermione was. They left the flat together and Hermione directed him through the tube, quietly explaining everything to him.

When the reached their destination, James was surprised to see loads of muggles walking towards a large stadium, wearing blue and white and a fair few wearing red. Hermione walked up to a little ticket booth, leaving him to watch in awe at the sheer number of them. When she came back, he couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "What is this?"

"It's a football match. It's like quidditch for muggles." Hermione helped James through the turnstile and they made their way to their seats, Hermione sometimes grabbing his hand in her warm one. "This is Queens Park Rangers versus Bristol City."

"Why are we at this match?" James asked. "Do you like Queens Park Rangers?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, though I haven't kept up with them since going to school. My dad is a big fan of QPR." Hermione told him with a smile on her face.

"And your mom is too?" James asked her, with surprise. He knew that Hermione was a muggleborn, based on the hideous word that scarred her arm. None of his mates were brave enough to ask her about it, though.

"No, my mom supports Bristol City." Hermione told him. "Actually, I think my parents met at this game."

"Your parents met at _this_ game?" James asked incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Hermione quickly backtracked, realizing what she'd implied. "Oh, I mean, at a QPR - Bristol City game, you know twenty years ago." She quickly tried to change the subject. "You know how wizards can just choose whichever Quidditch team they want to support?" James nodded, wanting her to continue. "Well, for muggles, it's much more tied to their location. My dad grew up near here, so he supports his local team. My mom grew up in Bristol, so she supports Bristol City. Even if your team isn't in the top league, it's much more important to support local."

James was surprised. That was pretty cool, he thought to himself. He definitely didn't live anywhere near Puddlemere.

With a whistle, the players on the pitch began passing a little ball back and forth. "Don't they have any bludgers?" James asked her, trying not to make his ignorance known to the wider crowd.

"There is only one ball." Hermione told him. "It's kind of like the quaffle. There isn't really anything equivalent to a snitch in this game, but the front players are kind of like the chasers and then the back row players are a bit like beaters, I guess. And then, of course, you have your keeper." Hermione explained. "If they get it in the net, they get a point."

James stared at Hermione's face. It was very soothing to hear her calm voice talking. If she'd been his teacher, he'd have paid a lot more attention. "Why don't they teach _this_ in muggle studies?"

Hermione laughed at that. "I suppose a lot more people would sign up if they knew that muggles liked sports."

James laughed at that. He liked Hermione like this. She seemed so happy and alive. And he liked learning about her. "What do your parents do?" He asked.

"Both of my parents are dentists." She told him. "They are like healers for teeth, in the muggle world." Hermione told him, not bothered to discuss this, when her eyes were on the game.

James was fascinated by the change in Hermione's demeanor, the more she got in the game. He especially liked when she stood and shouted at the players on the pitch. "Come on! Tackle him!" It was so out of the normal, quiet, studious girl that he'd known her to be the past few weeks.

If James was bored by the action on the game, he didn't tell Hermione. By the time that QPR scored the only goal of the game, he was jumping in celebration with the rest of the fans, wrapping Hermione up in a hug. And, by the end of the game, he was joining into the chants with the rest of the fans. It wasn't Quidditch, but it had been fun and it showed him that Hermione did care about him.

As the filed out of the stadium, with James's arm casually wrapped around Hermione's shoulder, they saw a woman in a red shirt get knocked down, and a tall man with brown hair in QPR jersey help her up. James smiled at the pair, seeing them give surprised and flirty looks at one another. He pointed them out to Hermione.

Hermione, of course, knew the rest of the story of John and Jean Granger. In just two months they'd be married in a small ceremony in London, after finding they had so much in common. By January they'd be pregnant with a baby, and the following September, they'd give birth to a little girl called Hermione.

At least, that's what she hoped would still happen.

Smiling at her parents, Hermione lead James out of the stadium to a quiet alley, so that they could apparate back to the flat. Taking the tube there had been an adventure, but now there were simply too many muggles to take it back.

When they got back, James was all smiles. "That was great! I can't wait to tell Sirius. Can we go to another match?"

Hermione smiled at him. "Sure, I will get a copy of their fixtures and we can pick another time to go." Hermione was glad he'd enjoyed himself.

Hermione felt a bit melancholy after all the excitement of the day. She just wanted to head back to her room and check over her potions before reading a little bit. Before she could make it back though, James's voice stopped her. "Hey, Hermione?"

"Yes?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"I didn't mean what I said about you moving out of the flat." He looked uncomfortable to be apologizing, but powered through and maintained eye contact with her. "I really like having you around and I am sure I speak for all of us when...well, we'd like you to stay as long as you'd like."

His words filled her heart with a warmth that she hadn't felt since coming back to this time. "Thanks."

* * *

A/N: Author's Note down here this time because I didn't want to ruin what happened. Hope you don't mind the excursion into the muggle world, and I hope I didn't get too much wrong in the opinion of the QPR fans. It's not the club I support.

Big big thank you to everyone whose favorited or followed after last chapter. Huge shout out to my reviewers from last chapter: blackcreed11, winxgirl1997, everlastingtrueromance, Brian1972, HMRoberts, ndavis77, twtzdwildcat, SereniteRose, lozzy035, xliberte, Pwrmom2, Charlie0925, Alessandra . 12 and H. Lokidottir! You guys are so awesome! Seriously.

Anyway, please let me know what you thought of chapter five and be on the lookout for chapter six later this week!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Big thanks to those of you who favorited or followed after last chapter. Huge thank you to my reviewers from last chapter: winxgirl1997, FleurSuoh, Guest, unicornz . 334, twztdwildcat (yes, eventually, things will be too sketchy...), lozzy035, ndavis77, laumirot, SereniteRose (they went to see a soccer game. I like football though too!), Pwrmom2, and Alessandra . 12! You guys are seriously amazing. I am glad most of you liked Hermione seeing her parents and didn't think it was too corny.

This chapter has Lily...I hope you don't mind my characterization of her. Please let me know what you thought of chapter six and be on the lookout for chapter seven next week!

* * *

Hermione was surprised by the length of time it took Dumbledore to call together the Order of the Phoenix for a meeting to discuss all of the things that she'd shared with him. As it was, it was half way through October, over a month since she'd woken up, that they finally all got together at someone's house, though she didn't recognize it.

She barely had time to look around the room, recognizing faces of people she'd know sometime in the future. There was Mad-Eye Moody, looking younger and less scarred than she'd last seen him, in Harry's aunt and uncle's house in Little Whinging, before he'd died. She saw Molly and Arthur Weasley. If she'd done her math correctly, she thought that Molly would have given birth to the twins earlier that year, one of whom she'd just seen dead at the battle. Hermione felt a somber smile slip into place on her face. They certainly looked haggard enough to have become recent parents to naughty little twins.

While she was looking around the room to catch a glimpse of red hair and green eyes, Sirius pulled her over to a woman. "Come on, I want you to meet my girlfriend Marlene." Hermione had never heard Sirius mention Marlene in her time before, but he constantly fawned over her now. As she understood, they'd been dating nearly a year now.

Hermione did remember the name of Marlene McKinnon, as Sirius had mentioned her as someone who'd been killed by Death Eaters. She wondered why he didn't say more about his love for her at the time. Maybe the pain of her loss was still too deep? Or maybe they'd broken up long before her arrival?

The blonde girl with big voluminous curls and a peasant dress in browns and greens was not exactly who she'd expected. She was rather beautiful, Hermione thought with a pleased smile. In that regard, she and Sirius were well suited to one another. But she seemed to have a sweetness and a softness that Sirius lacked. When Marlene shook her hand and told her she'd been a Ravenclaw at school, Hermione's eyebrows rose in surprise.

Sirius gave out a barking laugh and chided his girlfriend. "Didn't I tell you? Hermione here went to some fancy Russian potions school. She doesn't know anything about Hogwarts houses."

Marlene was about to apologize, when Dumbledore called the meeting to order. Everyone shuffled into their places, finding seats wherever they could get them. Hermione felt James fall into place next to her, and she was surprised by how comforting she found his presence. She'd found that she'd more often than not been Harry's strength, but unlike Harry, James was here to lend _her_ strength.

That was when she finally saw Lily Evans. Hermione could see how any man would find her beautiful. She had unblemished white skin and fiery red hair that fell over her shoulders, pin straight. This woman, Harry's mother, was sitting on a couch next to none other than a young Severus Snape. Hermione felt Lily's green eyes – Harry's green eyes – staring at her with unveiled interest, questioning who this unknown person was to be standing between her ex-fiancé and his friend Sirius.

Hermione suddenly felt inadequate under her scrutiny. She was embarrassed by her wild mud brown curls and the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She felt dumpy in her jeans and jumper. But most of all, she was suddenly aware of just how out of place she was.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone quieted down immediately. "I think you will all notice that we have a new member attending the meeting this evening. Her name is Hermione Granger and she joins us from Koldovstorez."

Hermione tried to hide her mirth as that bit of information certainly got both Lily and Snape's attention. Hermione knew that she looked unassuming, but she hoped that she looked at least intelligent. The rest of the Order was sure to give her friendly smiles and waves.

"Hermione has been able to provide us with serious intelligence on what Voldemort has been doing in order to insure his immortality." Dumbledore paused, Hermione was sure, for dramatic effect, before continuing to explain. "He has created five horcruxes."

The immediate outburst of commotion was raucous and overwhelming. Hermione saw James turn his head to look at her, surprised that she'd kept that bit of information from him the past few weeks. Suddenly all of the books she'd asked him to read made much more sense. He felt a bit ashamed to brush off a bit of reading now.

"Silence!" Dumbledore called, and quickly gained control of the room again. "There is good news and bad news. We know what they all are and where some of them are located. But right now, we need to come up with ways of destroying them."

Mad-Eyed Moody was the first to talk. "How does one destroy a horcrux? They are meant to be nearly indestructible."

"Moody makes an excellent point, Albus." Minerva McGonagall spoke next. "I haven't heard of anyone even attempting to make one in centuries, let alone trying to destroy one."

Hermione decided now was the time to speak up. "I know how to destroy them."

Moody turned on her, with a sneer on his face. "You, a girl so wet behind the ears, it's a surprise you're even out of school yet. What could you possibly know about dark wizard catching?"

Hermione was annoyed with his line of questioning. She knew that she looked young, but she figured that she had more direct experience fighting Voldemort than most of them had combined. She'd been at it since she was twelve, after all. But, she of course couldn't tell them that. "I know about destroying horcruxes, because I've done it before." She said resolutely, taking comfort in the outstretched fingers of James Potter, reaching for her own hand.

"Oh yeah? And how do you do that?" One of a pair of twin men asked her. She suspected that these were the Prewett twins for whom Fred and George had been named after. Hermione forced herself to stifle a smile at their shocks of red hair.

"Well, you can use basilisk venom for one." Hermione started.

"And just where would we be getting basilisk venom?" Someone she didn't know asked her.

Luckily, Dumbledore gave her a line and answered the person. "We have been making quiet inquiries across the globe to obtain some basilisk venom. Hermione has some Ministry contracts she is working on, so it shouldn't be too out of place."

Hermione watched as Severus Snape looked at her with a scowl in place on his face. Perhaps he thought himself better suited to fulfilling the ministry contracts? Or was he annoyed at being looked over for the task, which Hermione found was actually quite boring?

"That could take months, maybe years!" Moody cried. "And we are fighting Voldemort _now_. How many lives will be lost while we are sitting around on our arses waiting for a bit of venom?"

"We can also use fiendfyre." Hermione said quietly. Instantly the room around her quieted.

"Well, I think we should get started on that." Moody finally broke the silence.

"With all due respect, sir, the horcruxes are tricky to destroy. They fight back, they will do anything that they can to not be killed." Hermione told him. "The fiendfyre can get out of control very quickly. I think it's too dangerous. We should wait for the basilisk venom. It's the safer option."

Moody scoffed at her. "We have plenty of wizards and witches here who are more than capable of handling a bit of charms work like a fiendfyre charm."

Hermione felt herself wincing. She remembered the heat of the fire from Crabbe's spell in the Room of Requirement, and the way that he'd screamed as the flames consumed him with the diadem.

Moody picked up on her reluctance instantly. "How do we even know that we can trust you? That it isn't some kind of trick of Voldemort's to send us on a wild goose chase? Looking for something that doesn't exist?"

"Yeah, if you could just tell us what one of them was, and if we destroy it, then we will know for sure you are telling the truth about the rest of them." The other Prewett twin piped up.

Sensing that the tide was turning against her intel, Hermione caved and agreed, even though it was much too early. "Okay. One is the Diadem of Ravenclaw. It's in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts and I can take you to it tomorrow."

A general uproar wove through the crowd at the suggestion that a horcrux was being stored at Hogwarts. "Alright, well, we need people adept at Charms. Evans, you'll go." Moody gruffed out. "And is Lupin back yet?"

"No, I am afraid he will be gone through the turn of the moon." Dumbledore reported to the group. Remus had been gone for a while now.

"Alright, then, Potter? Think you can handle it?" Moody asked.

"Sure." James agreed next to her.

"And if I may, Miss Granger has some remarkable charms N.E.W.T.s scores. I think with the two of us supervising, Alastor, we should be able to destroy the horcrux tomorrow. We'll meet at Hogwarts after noon. It's a Hogsmeade weekend, so most of the students should be out of the castle."

With that taken care of, the rest of the Order meeting proceeded without incident. After they broke up, James told Hermione that he was going to speak with Moody, and Hermione was pulled into a conversation with Marlene. Marlene was very curious to hear more about the diadem, as it was long rumored to be lost. Unfortunately, she was not very good at charms, otherwise, she told Hermione, she'd quite like to come by and see the tiara before it was destroyed.

When their conversation broke up, she saw James not talking to Moody, but rather in a heated conversation with Lily Evans. The girl seemed to be gesturing in Hermione's direction, while Snape hovered over Lily's shoulder, giving James cruel smirks now and again.

Hermione could quickly see James getting more and more annoyed, but she felt that it wasn't right for her to go over and insinuate herself in the conversation. Seeing James in clear distress was upsetting though. She wanted so badly to go and comfort him, lend him strength the way that he had done to her before.

Finally, the conversation was ended by James walking away from the redheaded girl. When he made his way back to Hermione's side, he did nothing to hide the anger and hurt flashing in his hazel eyes. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder in a possessive fashion, and called over his shoulder, "Come on, Hermione. Let's get home."

Hermione was unable to see Lily's reaction to the declaration that Hermione was staying with James and the insinuation that they'd somehow made a home together. James hadn't had this much physical contact with her since the football match, and before that felt casual and fun, just two friends wrapped up in victory.

But now, it felt warm and it did feel like _home_. Hermione was shocked by that line of thought. He was so much taller than her, and she fit under his arm perfectly, her mind thought traitorously.

Trying to shake that line of thought from her brain, she ducked out from under him after they'd flooed back home. "What did she want to talk about with you?"

James scowled fiercely. Hermione found that she couldn't look away from his hazel eyes, the green in them unusually bright. "I don't want to talk about it, Hermione. So please just leave it."

In the end, it was James who broke their eye contact, when he stomped out of the living room and into his own bedroom, slamming the door behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who favorited/followed after last chapter. Big thanks to my reviewers from last chapter: meldz, FleurSuoh, Pwrmom2, lozzy035, twztdwildcat, winxgirl1997, xliberte, apriljunemay, SereniteRose, and KK! You guys are awesome!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter seven and be on the lookout for eight later this week!

Oh, and friendly reminder, my Rabastan/Hermione comes out tomorrow!

* * *

By the time noon rolled around next day, Hermione was filled with nervous anticipation at destroying the Diadem of Ravenclaw again. The last time she'd face the horrible thing, it had gone so terribly wrong, she wasn't sure that there wouldn't be permanent damage to the school. Still, Hermione found herself being ushered through the Floo by James, into Dumbledore's office.

James had been in a terrible mood since the meeting the day before, but Hermione had been pleased to see him reading a book on horcruxes that she'd given him. It seemed he was finally taking this seriously.

When they arrived at the school, Moody and Lily were already waiting for them in the Headmaster's Office. As soon as Hermione stepped through the Floo, Lily seemed to focus on the way James's arm was cradled around her body to help her through the fireplace. Once they'd separated, James was called over to talk to Moody, who was encouraging him to join up with the Aurors, like Sirius.

Lily walked right up to Hermione, a kind of curious and annoyed look on her face."Hi, Hermione right?" She asked, not bothering to hold out her hand to shake. "I'm Lily Evans."

Hermione was surprised by the focused way Lily was talking to her. "Yes, it's Hermione. It's nice to meet you, Lily."

"So, you're quite good at charms, then?" Lily asked, her green eyes looking Hermione up and down in a disdainful way. "I was top of our class here are Hogwarts in most subjects." She bragged.

Hermione was shocked, but she thought that Lily might be trying to one-up her. "Oh, I guess you could say I'm good with charms. I got an O on the N.E.W.T.s." Hermione hated this line of questioning and was desperate to end the conversation.

Lily sniffed. "So, you are living with James?"

Hermione was surprised, but glad to understand the real reason that Lily was behaving this way. She didn't want to think ill of Harry's mother, but she hadn't really been the sweet, kind, caring woman everyone described. It did give Hermione a surge of hope though that their relationship could be salvaged. Lily still wanted James. "Yes, the lads were kind enough to let me stay with them while I get on my feet during my transition back into English life." Hermione lied through her teeth, knowing that Lily thought she'd received her schooling in Russia.

Lily seemed to look relieved to hear that. "Oh, that of course makes sense." The redhead told her, not disguising the fact that she was judging Hermione's appearance. "You look much more like Remus's type than James's." Lily said, more to herself than to Hermione. "You must spend a lot of time with Sirius and Remus as well."

Hermione was suddenly annoyed with this young woman in front of her. What did that mean that she was more Remus's type? Was Lily implying she was too plain for James to be interested in her? Hermione knew she wasn't as glamorous as Lavender or Ginny or even Lily herself, Hermione reminded herself that she had dated an international Quidditch star, damn it! She wasn't going to let this nosy woman one up her. "Actually, Remus has been traveling the last few weeks and Sirius is always gone on auror business or with Marlene." Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "James and I spend a lot of time together in the flat. Alone."

Lily's jaw dropped at Hermione's implication and Hermione desperately hoped that James wouldn't hear about this. Unfortunately for her, James walked back over to them, staring at the two women who seemed to be at an impasse. Nervous, he asked, "What are you two talking about? We were about to head out."

Lily glared at James. "Oh, Hermione here was just telling me about how much time _alone_ the two of you spend together at the flat."

James suddenly understood what was going on. Trying to contain a laugh, he settled on an arrogant smirk that Lily used to say she hated. "Well, one of the benefits of not having a job, you know?" Then he wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist again, before leading her down the spiral staircase from the Headmaster's Office, with Moody, Dumbledore and Lily following behind them. "Thanks, I owe you one." He whispered into Hermione's ear.

Hermione just nodded, before leading them up to the Seventh floor - she had to lead because none of the others knew where the room actually was - to the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy and the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Hermione hated how good James's arm felt around her waist.

Finally, the door appeared and they walked into the clutter. Lily was the first to speak after seeing the towers of forgotten things in the vast room. "This is going to take forever! How are we supposed to find it in this century?"

"I remember where it is." Hermione said. "If you want to wait here, I can go get it and bring it back up front."

"Not likely, girl." Moody groused at her. "I will accompany you to find it. Wouldn't want you spiriting it away if you are one of Voldemort's lackeys."

Hermione smiled, remembering how distrustful Moody had been in her time. She was surprised that he might actually be more paranoid now. "Alright, follow me then." Hermione began leading him down the rows of stuff, leaving Dumbledore to attempt awkward conversation between the two formerly affianced students.

It didn't take long for Hermione to locate the Diadem, and she scaled its little tower to grab it. Moody scowled at her, and insisted on carrying it back. Hermione was happy to let him have it, as just the few moments she'd been holding it, she'd felt the dark magic crawling all over it.

When they returned, Hermione breached the subject of its destruction. "Alright, who is going to cast the fiendfyre? I have never cast it, and I only know the theory behind the charm to cease the flames." She readily admitted. Lily looked at her with a little triumphant smirk, as though admitting your weakness was a bad thing.

"As I am likely the only one who has successfully cast a fiendfyre before, perhaps it should be me?" Dumbledore conceded. Hermione didn't want to think of the circumstances that would have necessitated him using it before. It was an awful curse. With everyone in agreement, Dumbledore instructed them to stand back.

Immediately, a fiery phoenix erupted from the tip of his wand and swooped down, enveloping the Diadem in its billowing flames.

Hermione knew that something was wrong almost immediately. The Diadem began giving off that blackish green smoke that began intermingling with the phoenix. It quickly grew larger and the flames morphed into the shape of a large, hissing snake.

The snake whipped and wound around the five of them, looking for the weakest link. It settled its eyes on James, and then the horcrux began to speak. " _Look at you, pathetic weak. Why you are shaking in your britches right now._ " The snake made a huge circle around James, wide enough to keep everyone else away from him, but not close enough to burn. Yet.

Dumbledore was desperately trying to regain control over the flames, but was so far unable to. James had his eyes fixed on the snakes. " _You aren't worthy to carry the name Potter. There has never been a less true Gryffindor. Brave at heart and courageous? More like arrogant and lazy. You couldn't even read the one book Hermione asked you to."_

Hermione was screaming through the flames, trying to get James's attention. "Don't listen to it James! It's preying on your insecurities!" She watched helplessly as the snake wound closer and closer to her new friend.

" _And Lily. You couldn't even keep her, the woman you've loved for five years."_ The horcrux taunted. " _She left you for a man so repulsive to look at. What does that say about you?_ "

Hermione finally cast a protective charm around James to help shield him from the flames.

"What are you doing just standing around? Help me put this out!" Hermione demanded. This seemed to jolt the other three into action, and they began using the charm to help dissipate the flames. It seemed to take forever, but the giant fire snake soon began to disappear, coil by deadly coil. In a final puff of smoke, the horcrux gave a scream and was killed.

James looked stricken to realize that everyone in the room had heard his inadequacies. He hated the idea that Lily knew how he really felt about her, especially since they'd been broken up for months. He quickly turned and left the room, leaving the other four to survey the damage.

"I _told_ you that they would fight back." Hermione said insistently, upset that things had gotten so out of hand. She saw how upset James was, how the horcruxes words had really cut to his core. She was disappointed to hear her own words used against him again. She had no idea that he didn't feel like a worthy Gryffindor.

"Lucky we had you to keep things under control, Miss Granger." Dumbledore told her with a smile, seemingly undisturbed by the things that they had just witnessed.

"We cannot use fiendfyre again, unless absolutely necessary." Hermione told Moody, with an angry look on her face. "We will wait until I can procure some basilisk venom. I have a lead on some from an apothecary in China."

Finally, deciding she'd spent enough time in the Room of Requirement with all of its haunts and horrible memories, Hermione turned to leave. When she looked at Lily, the woman who was so self confident before seemed confused and concerned. Maybe she was finally realizing that it was bigger than all of them, Hermione thought.

But still, she needed to talk to James. She left the room and ran down the stairs to catch up with him, catching stares from a few confused stragglers that hadn't gone to Hogsmeade. "James! Wait up!" She called after him.

He didn't slow down, but Hermione quickly caught up with him. "Didn't you hear me?" She asked, upset that he would walk away from her.

"What do you want?" Hermione was surprised by the coldness in his voice.

"I just think that…the horcruxes are awful. They play on your worst insecurities and use them against you. I know, because it's happened to me before." Hermione told him. "But they aren't real. It's all in your head. No one else thinks of you that way." She stared into his hazel eyes, willing him to understand what she meant, that she didn't think of him that way.

James shrugged his shoulders. "I guess."

Hermione bit her lip. "James, maybe you should go talk to Lily. I know she would really like to discuss things with you. Hell, she was jealous of _our_ relationship. And you obviously still have a lot of feelings bottled up about her." Hermione pleaded with him.

James's face was awash with annoyance. "I don't _want_ to talk about Lily, Hermione. Would you please just leave it?" He was about to stalk away, before he felt her little hand on his arm.

When she looked at him, with her bright brown eyes, hair ruffled from the wind created by the fiendfyre, James thought that he just might be able to kiss her. "Please James, just think about it?"

James shook his head, pulling his arm away from her. "Come on, let's just get home. I want to forget that this whole day happened."

Hermione stared at him for a long minute before nodding her head in agreement. Together, they walked in the direction of the headmaster's office. "Alright. Do you want to pick up some take away for dinner?"

James gave a noise in approval of a take away dinner, but his mind was on other things. He was curious about why she was so insistent, why she was so keen on him and Lily getting together. He wanted answers, and he would get them, one way or another.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Huge thanks to those of you who favorited or followed after last chapter. Big thanks to my reviewers: winxgirl1997, Pwrmom2, twztdwildcat, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, lozzy035, SereniteRose, Charlie0925, Guest, and minniemousemom! You guys rock.

I think you will like this chapter, because James finally gets some answers. So please let me know what you think of chapter eight and be on the lookout for chapter nine next week!

* * *

By the time that Hermione and James had returned home with their take away, James's bad mood had spread to Hermione. They sat together in their little dining room, sharing fried rice and a bottle of red wine they'd picked up at an off license.

Hermione was the first to finally breach the silence of their little flat. "He'll know that we destroyed it." She said, her eyes unfocused and staring out the window.

"Who will know?" James asked, unsure of what they were talking about.

"Voldemort." Hermione said with a dread that permeated the conversation. "Voldemort will know that we destroyed one of his horcruxes. He always knew before."

James was surprised by her revealing words. "How will he know?"

"I guess it's because it's a little piece of his soul." Hermione mused aloud. "They must still be interconnected in one way or another."

James was silent for a few moments after that statement, letting it sink in. "What do you mean that he always knew before? How do you know so much about the horcruxes?" She had so many little inconsistencies, but he was finally going to get to the bottom of it.

Hermione was overwhelmed by the memories of the day. The smell of the horcrux dying, its words, had memories of her past bubbling up. Wasn't it just yesterday that she'd destroyed the Diadem? Wasn't it just yesterday that Harry had died? She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She hadn't talked about it with anyone, everything that she'd been through. Couldn't she tell James? He was her friend and now that he'd come face to face with a horcrux, he would understand, wouldn't he?

Finally, the knowledge that she'd changed things too much to ever hope of going back made her feel like she could share things with James. "James, I have to tell you something, but I'll need a wizard's oath that you won't talk about it with anyone but me."

He looked surprised, but he agreed readily. In the past month of living with Hermione, he knew that she'd been through a lot, but he'd never breached the topic. It was eating him alive with curiosity. He offered his hand.

"Do you have any veritaserum? I think that what I tell you might sound crazy." Hermione told him, her watery brown eyes meeting his.

James looked even more surprised, but brushed it off. "We can include truth into the oath. But even if we didn't, I trust you, now, Hermione. After what we went through today. I don't need veritaserum."

Hermione was surprised, but nodded. She took his offered hand and they both made vows to one another, magic swirling around their hands until it sunk into their hands. James didn't let go of her hand, instead setting it down to rest on the table. Hermione wasn't sure if this was an act of comfort or what, but she appreciated it. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the table. "I was born September 19th, 1979 to muggle dentists in London."

She saw James's mind whirring away at date that she mentioned. "But that's not until next autumn."

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes meeting his, guiltily. Sudden understanding sunk into his face. "I was sent back in time by a girl I considered a friend, in May, 1998. She was distraught after losing the love of her life, and my best friend, a man called Harry Potter."

Swift confusion swept over his face. But then once again understanding sunk in. "My son?" James asked, his voice cracking in surprise.

Hermione nodded, tears finally falling over her cheeks. "He was my best friend and I did _everything_ for him."

"Did you love him?" James asked softly.

Hermione shook her head. "I wasn't in love with him, if that's what you mean. But he was like my brother." Hermione was quiet for a few moments. "Voldemort killed him. He tried once before, when Harry was just a baby. He was called the boy who lived, because he was the only person alive to survive the killing curse."

"Where was I?" James asked, horrified that someone had tried to kill his son, someone who wasn't even born yet.

Hermione frowned, and James knew in the pit of his stomach what happened, but he needed to hear the words any way. "You were killed, trying to protect your wife and child from Voldemort. The only way Harry survived was by your wife – Lily – throwing herself in front of the killing curse to protect Harry. She sacrificed herself so that he could live."

James was quiet for a moment, thinking about her words. Of course he would sacrifice himself to save the woman he loved and his child, but he just wasn't sure that he loved Lily anymore. "So that's why you are so keen on me and Lily working things out?" He asked.

Hermione nodded, a fresh wave of tears on her face. "Yes, like I said, you and Lily should have been married months ago, but somehow, my being here has ruined your relationship." Hermione told him, pitifully, her shoulders shaking with her sobs. "Now, Harry will never come back again. And it's all my fault."

James found himself wrapping his arm around Hermione, letting her crying into his chest, and rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back. Hermione found herself instantly relaxing and was once again forced to confront the differences between James and Harry. Harry always hated it when she cried, being too uncomfortable around crying girls to really know what to do. "Hey, it's not your fault." James whispered to her. "I don't know what happened between…well the past, I guess, and you coming here, but me and Lily breaking up had nothing to do with you."

James thought back to the times that he and Lily tried to work out their relationship and Lily's adamant refusal to give up Snape. It had absolutely nothing to do with the little witch with messy brown curls, who spent her summer unconscious.

Finally, Hermione felt her tears drying up, and she was comforted by James's words. She supposed she could never know the full impact of her presence here. She bit her lip, thinking about if she should tell James about Peter or if she should keep it to herself. Surely, Dumbledore didn't believe her, why would Peter's best friend believe her about that rat's betrayal?

Sensing that Hermione's mind was still clouded with thoughts, James tried to bring her back to happier times. "Tell me more about Harry." He instructed her, grabbing her chin with his fingers, so that he could meet her eyes.

Hermione smiled fondly at the thought of her old friend. "Well, everyone always said that he looked exactly like you, but with Lily's eyes." Hermione gave him a shy smile. "But, I think you and Harry actually look quite different."

"I am much more attractive, right?" James goaded her.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, you have a confidence and a way that you carry yourself that is…well, it's more attractive than Harry could ever hope to be." Seeing James's sly grin, she continued. "But you are a bigger git than Harry ever was. And doubly arrogant."

James gave her a faux-scowl. "How did the two of you meet?"

"I barged into his compartment on the train to Hogwarts. I was helping a friend locate his lost familiar. Then we were both sorted into Gryffindor, but we weren't friends at first. He thought I was rather swotty and a know it all." Hermione thought back to the time when they were just children. It seemed so long ago now. "But, then he saved me from a mountain troll, and we were the closest friends after that. Us and Ron Weasley."

James smiled, hearing about the mischief his "son" had gotten up to just as a First Year. Then he thought about the name Weasley. "Ron Weasley…Merlin, are the Weasleys going to have _another_ boy?"

Hermione nodded, giggling. "Yes, one more, but then they finally have a girl. Ginny. She was a year younger than us."

Hermione told him about all of the adventures the trio had together, and all the times that they faced Voldemort together. When she began talking about their year on the run, she started to tear up again. "We were looking for the horcruxes, but we had no idea where they were. It was really hard on all of us, but getting Harry through the war was the only thing that was pushing me forward."

Hermione told him about how Ron had left her and Harry behind, cracking under the pressure, but how it made Hermione only fight stronger. James couldn't imagine what it would be like if one of his friends turned on him. Finally, rubbing the scar on her arm, she told James about how she'd been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange for information about the sword of Gryffindor. James sat there horrified, but didn't try to make her feel better, just accepted what happened to her and gave her support.

"We all had to do things we didn't want to, or that we were uncomfortable with. I know now that I will have to do them again. Or just handle things differently." Hermione told him, with a seriousness that a weaker witch wouldn't possess.

"I want to help any way I can. Just tell me what I need to do." James told her, feeling a sense of purpose for the first time since graduating Hogwarts. Sure, he was in the Order with the rest of them, but he felt so useless until today.

Hermione bit her lip. "We need to get into Malfoy Manor. Lucius is hiding a horcrux there." She let her words sink in for a moment, before continuing on. "It would really help us if you took up your family's seat on the Wizengamot."

James was annoyed to hear that. "What? No! How will listening to boring old geezers prattle on all day help us with the Malfoys?"

Hermione helped James connect the dots. "The Malfoys have an annual Christmas Party. They invite a who's who of the wizarding world, but they also invite all members of the Wizengamot." Hermione explained to him, understanding slowly falling into place on his face. "And if you are a member of the Wizengamot, that means that you will get an invitation to the party."

James sighed, but accepted her logic. "Fine, I will see about getting my family's seat, though you should know it hasn't been held by a member of my family for over a century."

Hermione was too ecstatic to worry about his grumbling and instead hugged him, enjoying the feel of his body pressed against hers. She stood up and kissed his cheek goodnight after thanking him profusely.

"Hey, Hermione?" James called after her. "In your time, how did Voldemort find us? I assume we would have gone into hiding if we knew he was after us."

Hermione frowned at his questions. "You were betrayed, by someone you thought you could trust."

"Who?" James demanded, unhappy to hear that. His mind was spinning through possibilities, but each seemed more far-fetched than the last.

"Does it really matter? Dumbledore has assured me that it's impossible, that it's another thing that has changed because of my being here." Hermione argued futilely.

"Please, just tell me." James sounded quiet and upset.

So Hermione relented. "In my time, Peter Pettigrew went to the side he thought was going to win. He was a Death Eater, and he sold you out to Voldemort." Hermione let the words hang in the air between them, seeing the crestfallen look on James's face. "I'm sorry James." Then she turned, leaving to head back to her own room, leaving her new friend to be alone with his thoughts.

It was impossible, wasn't it? For his friend who he shared a dormitory with for the last seven years to betray him? James shook the unease from his head.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: So glad everyone is loving the story so far and were glad to see Hermione open up to James. This weeks pair of updates are Christmas-centric (completely on accident!) so I hope you enjoy this as well.

Thanks to everyone who favorited/followed after last chapter. I can't believe this has over 100 favorites and over 250 follows! And huge thanks to my reviewers from last chapter - were are nearly to 100! Wow! Thanks to: Brian1972, meldz, chrissieatthend, Pwrmom2, SereniteRose, everlastingtrueromance, xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, hannah . kaho, winxgirl1997, lozzy0355, twztdwildcat, Charlie0925, 5SecsofLARRYcat, and kilataia! You guys seriously rock!

There will only be one update of this this week, due to the holidays. If you are itching for more nauticalparamour though, might I suggest trying Little Bit, a Sirimione Christmas short story, or my new fic called Be Together, it's a Rabastan/Hermione.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter nine and be on the lookout for ten next week!

* * *

True to his word, James went the following Monday to the Ministry to see about claiming the Potter family seat with the Wizengamot. It had taken much longer than they expected, as James was expected to prepare and certify his family tree back ten generations. Hermione thought that was a little bit excessive, but Sirius was actually quite the help.

By mid December, James was regularly attending meetings. Hermione knew that he hated it more than anything, so she constantly was telling him how useful his job was, and how in just a few days they'd be that much closer to getting another horcrux.

If James was honest with himself, he would admit that he did find the Wizengamot meetings a little bit interesting. Most of the time it was just stodgy old men complaining, but every now and then, there was actually a bit of legislature that he found interesting.

In addition, he was pleased when Abraxas Malfoy finally sent James an invitation to the Malfoy's annual Christmas Party. The invitation was as ostentatious as the old man that was always going on and on in meetings. James didn't really remember Lucius Malfoy from school, as he'd been in seventh year when James was just a first year, but from what he did remember, they were both blond and with flinty grey eyes. The invitation instructed him to bring a guest in a condescending way, he assumed because he wasn't married or betrothed to a nice, pureblood girl that they could address in the letter.

When he returned home that night, he found Sirius and Hermione snuggled up on the couch, both drinking wine. Sirius had his head on Hermione's shoulder and she would run her fingers through his hair every now and again. For a moment, James felt a stab of jealousy at the sight, that Hermione might be interested in Sirius and not him. Shaking his head, he remembered that Sirius was with Marlene and that Hermione was just his friend.

He sat down on the other side of Hermione and handed her the invitation. "Sweet Nimue, could they be any more ridiculous? I hate this family."

Sirius read the invitation over her shoulder as well, before making a soft noise of agreement. "I remember mother was constantly berating Uncle Cyg for agreeing to a match with Abraxas Malfoy. Though, I think Cissa has settled in well."

Annoyed that they seemed to be having a secret conversation, James cleared his throat, looking to Hermione. "So you'll go with me?"

"Me?" Hermione asked incredulously. "I can't go to Malfoy Manor. I'm a mudblood, remember?"

"Oh, don't worry, the Malfoys can't afford to be that racist for an event such as this. A lot of the Wizengamot members are less than pureblooded." James said. "Besides, it's not like we'll announce your blood status to the party."

"Why can't you just go by yourself?" Hermione pleaded.

"Well, I have no idea where to find this horcrux." James told her. "Secondly, I don't even know what it is. And when I find it…I don't want to be alone with it." He swallowed thickly, and Hermione felt herself welling up with guilt.

"Not to mention if he goes…stag, he will be fighting off young marriage age witches all night. No time for searching." Sirius added to the argument, amusement sparkling in his eyes at his pun, assuming it would go right over Hermione's head.

"But I have no idea what to wear!" Hermione whined, trying not to seem like a petulant child, though she kind of felt like one.

"I can help you with that." Sirius told her, patting Hermione on her knee. "I will take you shopping tomorrow. It will help me get my mind off things anyway." Sirius, then stood, leaving an empty wine glass on the table. "Alright, you two, I am off to bed."

When their friend left the room, James was surprised that he was staying in and going to bed so early, so he looked to Hermione for understanding. Hermione just shrugged and mouthed the word "Marlene." James was surprised about that. Sirius was having trouble with Marlene? Why had he told Hermione and not him?

"I actually have to step out to go pick up the basilisk venom from the post office." Hermione told him. "They claimed it was too dangerous to send via owl." Then she stood and made her own way to her bedroom, before shutting the door, leaving James to sit on the couch by himself.

* * *

When Hermione returned to her room, she got out a little piece of parchment and wrote a little note on it.

 _R.A.B.,_

 _I know about the locket. When you are ready to do something about it, the enclosed vial is a portkey._

 _H_

Then Hermione walked over and grabbed the empty vial she had left out on her desk. Tapping it with her wand, she whispered, " _Portus"_. Then she placed the vial and the note into a little black box.

Satisfied with her handiwork, Hermione grabbed her jacket and slipped her tiny package into her pocket. She quickly left the apartment, walking the short distance to the entrance to wizarding London. She kept her head down and walked quickly to the post office.

Confident that no one she knew recognized her, she slipped into the doors, and paid for an owl to take the package to Regulus Black at Hogwarts. Then, she picked up the package containing her basilisk venom. The brown parchment wrapping the parcel was marked with all kinds of hazardous content stickers, but she was sure that the post office didn't know what was in it. She was sure, if they did know, they never would have willingly transported it.

Hermione had been very fortunate to have been contacted by a wizarding outpost located outside of Nepal. Apparently a baby basilisk had made its way into muggle territory, having escaped a magizoologists' private lab. The magical folk had been looking for a way to get rid of it, so as not to expose their community. The basilisk had wandered into a muggle farmer's chicken coop one night, looking for warmth, and was killed the following morning, when the roosters woke up.

The magizoologist was willing to send her the venom, as the wizarding community had no uses for it. Hermione was grateful to have it, though she knew that there was only a small amount contained inside.

Satisfied that she'd completed her tasks for the evening, she returned home.

* * *

The following morning, Hermione woke up, feeling as though someone were standing over her. Opening her eyes, she saw Sirius standing next to her bed, looking at her with a silly smirk on his face. "Has anyone ever told you, you are one of the ugliest sleepers?"

"Has anyone ever told you, it's creepy to stand over someone while they sleep?" Hermione countered, annoyed at being woken up this way. Of course she knew she was an ugly sleeper. Her hair always turned every which way and ended up looking like a bird's nest, and she always woke up with dried drool on her cheek.

"Well, come on, it's time to go shopping. I've been waiting for you to get up for ages!" Sirius whined. "It's ten o'clock."

Hearing that she'd slept in so late surprised Hermione. Normally she was up much earlier than that. Sighing, she sat up. "Okay, okay, just give me thirty minutes to make myself presentable."

Sirius nodded and left Hermione alone to get herself ready for the day. Once she felt like she was ready to face the day, she joined Sirius in the living room. "Okay, where to first?"

Sirius gave her a wide grin before leading her out of the apartment. When they ended up in a very fancy part of muggle London, Hermione was surprised. Sirius ushered her into a little boutique. "Muggle? Are you sure?"

Sirius nodded. "A lot of the wizard designers on the Continent are starting to embrace muggle fashion. Plus it will drive my cousin Narcissa insane if she thinks there is someone more fashionable than her." Sirius picked out a couple of dresses. "We just need to think up an Italian sounding name, and you can pretend to be surprised that they haven't heard of them before."

Hermione shrugged, taking the offered dresses and heading off to the dressing room. Trying on the first dress, Hermione stepped out into the little waiting room where Sirius was sitting on a garish pink couch. A salesgirl stood by as unobtrusively as possible, waiting for any instruction needed. "Too long." Sirius told her before she could even step fully out of the stall.

Hermione huffed and returned into the stall and tried on the next dress. When she stepped out of the stall, Sirius gave her a lascivious grin, but still shook his head. "Oh, I wish that was appropriate, but it is far too sexy to wear to a society party."

Hermione felt her cheeks heat up, but again retreated into the little stall. Finally her eyes settled on a red dress. Hermione slipped into it. It was a red silk cotton blend wrap dress that felt heavenly against her bare skin. It was a shiny red color, and Hermione thought it was quite festive. Also, it was stylish, but not too sexy, stopping a few inches above her knee.

When she stepped out of the stall, Sirius let out a low whistle, and genuinely looked surprised. "Wow, Hermione, that is definitely the dress." He told her. "Fuck, why is James taking you to the party and not me?"

Hermione giggled. "Hey now, I am sure things are are going to work out between you and Marlene." Sirius had come to her and told her that he and Marlene were taking a break, but he didn't go into specifics, just that he thought it was over for good, and that he would be alone forever. It broke Hermione's heart, because it seemed to her like Sirius was really happy with Marlene, and he was nothing like the slightly bitter playboy type she remembered from Grimmauld Place.

"Go get that dress off so that I can pay for it." Sirius commanded. She had already tried to protest Sirius's funding of her little "shopping spree", but had been unable to get him to fold. He told her that sending her to Malfoy Manor in clothes he bought would be a silent revenge he wasn't likely to get again.

When Hermione redressed in her street clothes, she brought out the dresses she didn't want. She handed them to the sales girl, who gave her a big smile. "Your boyfriend is so cute. And he has a really good eye for fashion. Seems like a keeper for sure."

Hermione blushed, shaking her head. "Oh, he's not my boyfriend." Hermione told her. She couldn't imagine dating Sirius. Instead, she had James's face pop into her head, but quickly banished that idea. "He's just a really close friend. More like a brother."

"Oh, sorry for assuming." The girl said before turning away.

When Hermione rejoined Sirius at the counter, he had already bought her dress and had it waiting in a little bag for her. "Alright, kitten?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I think now we just need to find you some stunning gold heels, and you will look like the perfect little Gryffindor that you are."

Hermione blushed, feeling like her old self for once, before realizing that Sirius had no idea that she actually was a Gryffindor. "Oh? And just what makes you think I would be a Gryffindor?" Hermione asked cheekily. "I can be very cunning."

"Trust me, if you are showing up on James's arm, you are definitely a Gryffindor." Sirius countered. Hermione had to tamp down the warm feeling that welled up in her chest.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: I know I said just one update this week, but then I got such a lovely response from all of you after last chapter, I couldn't resist sneaking in one more update! Thank you to all of you who favorited or followed after last chapter. Big ups to my reviewers from last chapter: lozzy035, Pwrmom2, Guest, blackcreed11, Alessandra . 12, masoxrista, xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, twztdwildcat, winxgirl1997, Ceralyn, SereniteRose, and 5SecsOfLARRYcat! You guys are so awesome, thank you so much!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter ten and be on the lookout for chapter twelve next week! Happy Christmas!

* * *

When James saw Hermione walk out of her room for the party, it felt like a bludger hitting him in the gut. She took his breath away. He'd become so comfortable with spending so much time with Hermione, that he never thought that she could look so gorgeous.

Her brown curly hair was slightly tamed, but she still let her messy curls spill down her back. The red dress that she wore showed off the body that she never flaunted usually. She was all long leg, and firm muscle and although she wasn't as voluptuous as some witches were, he thought that her breasts looked good, encased in red silk. It reminded him of the time that he caught a glimpse of pink nipple through the white shirt Sirius had loaned her, back on only the first day he met her.

But, he was mostly surprised by how attractive he found her usually. He found himself comparing her dolled up appearance now to how she normally looked. He hadn't realized how much he loved the little freckles that crossed her nose, or the way her amaretto brown eyes nearly broadcast her emotions, or the way that she hated her hair, but that it seemed to suit her just so.

He was speechless.

Sirius grinned at him over Hermione's shoulder. "What do you think? I did alright with the dress, then?"

James cleared his throat. "Yes, you look lovely, Hermione." He told her, suddenly feeling awkward.

Hermione blushed prettily. "Thank you, James. You look quite dapper yourself." She responded, noting the way his new dress robes fit him very nicely. "Well, shall we go then?"

"Right, wouldn't want to keep the Malfoys waiting." James told her, offering his arm to her before leading her towards the floo. After calling out their destination, the pair stepped into the green flames.

Hermione was overwhelmed by the opulence of Malfoy Manor. The last time she had been there, she had been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange and the Manor has seemed dreary and cold and unforgiving. But now, it was all light and warmth and richness. Hermione was just now realizing that she might run into the crazy witch who had scarred her tonight and rubbed her hand up and down over the covered scar on her arm.

James, feeling obtuse for not realizing that he had asked Hermione to go back to the one place she was tortured, patted her arm in a show of comfort. He felt Hermione relax into him and relished her warmth under his fingertips. "Come on, let's go join the party."

Hermione nodded and they walked amongst the richly adorned guests of the Malfoys. It didn't take long for Lucius and his new bride, Narcissa, to swoop down and welcome them to the party. "Potter, how...nice of you to join us." Lucius said with a barely disguised sneer.

Hermione took a moment to study him. She was surprised by how much younger he seemed now that he hadn't lived through two wars. "Malfoy, thank you for inviting us." James responded. Hermione was impressed by how he had swallowed his pride and probably many choice words like he would have liked to tell the blond.

"And who is your guest? I don't believe we've met?" Narcissa asked, her face a cool mask, but not actively hostile. Her long blonde hair was pinned up in a chignon.

"Hermione Granger." Hermione replied, holding out her hand for Lucius to take.

He stared at her for a moment before taking her hand, and pressing his lips to the back of it. "Granger? I am not familiar with that name."

Hermione gave him a coy smile. "Of the Dagworth-Grangers, of course. I was raised in Russia." She felt like quite the snob for relating herself to one of the best potioneers in history.

Lucius looked surprised. Narcissa looked her up and down. "And where did you get your...dress?" She asked.

Hermione looked at Narcissa feigning surprise. "Oh, I am surprised you can't tell! It's a Valeria Accorsi original. She makes all the dresses of Duchessa Carlevaro." Hermione felt even more snobby saying all that, but Sirius had insisted she say it just as they'd practiced.

"And your purse...Chanel?" Narcissa asked.

Hermione felt the heavy weight of the black leather bag on her arm. "Yes, it's vintage." Hermione said with a sniff. In truth, it was vintage Chanel, but it been heavily fortified with charms and protections so that they could remove the Diary from the manor.

"Well, I have to say, Potter, I am surprised by how...different your date is from your ex-fiancee." Lucius said with a vicious smile. Hermione got the impression that she had impressed Lucius pretending to have pure blood, and that he hadn't approved of Lily being muggleborn.

Narcissa smiled as well. "Yes, though, I would say both of you have moved on so quickly after ending your engagement." Narcissa gestured behind her. "Miss Evans is accompanying our friend Severus tonight. Unfortunately." It seemed that Lucius and Narcissa did not approve of Severus bringing a muggleborn date at all. Hermione wondered if this was going to cause any issues for him with the other Death Eaters or if they saw it as an itch to scratch.

Hermione watched, with a tightness in her chest, as James located Lily Evans, wearing a deep green dress standing, laughing with Snape. He looked defeated.

"Well, we had better be off." Narcissa told them. "So many guests to introduce ourselves too."

Hermione looked at James, his hazel eyes not leaving Lily since he noticed her. "James are you okay?" She asked tentatively. When he grunted in annoyance, Hermione patted him on his shoulder. "I will just go get us drinks then." Hermione said, turning away from him.

She made her way over to the bar, her gold heels clicking on her marble floor. Hermione felt a riotous part of her want to turn around to see if James was watching her as she walked away, to see if he might be as entranced with her as he was with Lily. Instead, she made her way firmly to the bar, stopping to order them two firewhiskeys, neat.

With drinks in hand, she was cornered by a slightly inebriated Professor Slughorn. Of course he'd weasel his way into an invite here, Hermione thought bitterly. She had to tell him all kinds of lies about her potioneering schooling back in Russia, but before long she was able to extract herself from the conversation.

Whirling around, she noticed that James was no longer standing where she left him. Scowling, she looked around, cursing him for leaving her alone in _this_ house with _these_ people. She looked all over the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of his messy black hair. When she finally spotted him, she was gutted to see him standing next to a beautiful woman with red hair.

Hermione felt all of her hope spill out of her, and her shoulders slumped, no longer feeling like the Cinderella she was masquerading as. Not only was he talking with Lily Evans, but he was _laughing_ with her.

"How does it feel coming up second best?" A dark familiar voice asked her. Hermione turned to face Severus Snape. It was odd to see him looking so young and alive in this time. As Headmaster, Snape seemed like a hollow husk of a man. "I've been doing it for years and I still haven't found a way to deal with it."

Hermione scowled. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Snape smirked at her. "Oh, so you mean to tell me you aren't standing here, pining for James Potter, who is talking to his self-proclaimed love of his life?"

Hermione paused. She should be happy. She was sent here to make sure that Harry Potter would live, and James and Lily had to be on speaking terms in order for that to happen. But then why did it feel like a knife twisting in her heart? She'd become so used to the idea that James and Lily weren't going to get back together. "James and I are here as friends."

Snape just gave her another one of those mean smiles, suggesting he could read right through all of her lies. It made Hermione mad at him. After all, this was all his fault. He'd instructed Ginny to send her back with no explanations. Downing her drink in one gulp, she handed the other tumbler to Snape. "You can have this. I will just go powder my nose."

Hermione walked out from the main ballroom and into the hall. She'd gotten distracted by the merriment and the festivities, but they were here for a purpose. James could go off gallivanting about, but she was going to find that diary no matter what.

Finding the library undetected was a lot easier than Hermione expected. She'd heard Draco Malfoy bragging about the size of his family's library once, and she had to say, she was surprised that he wasn't lying. She walked between row after row of books, painstakingly categorized. She was amazed by the depth and breadth of subject material. The only sound in the rows was the clicking of her heels.

She suddenly felt nervous that someone would find her here, snooping around. Even though all the books were categorized, she had no idea where one would hide a journal written by Tom Riddle, she decided her best course of action would be to summon it. " _Accio Tom Riddle's Diary_." Hermione whispered after looking down the hall.

She felt the journal before she saw it. The dark magic surrounding it was palpable as it flew through the room, towards her. It had all her hair standing on end. Grabbing the diary out of the air, she got the feeling that she wasn't alone in the library. She quickly stuffed the diary in her purse, looking over her shoulder to make sure that no one was sneaking up behind her.

When she turned around, she came face to face with a hard chest. Letting out a gasp of shock, Hermione hit the man in the chest. "James! How dare you sneak up on me like that?" For a moment she felt like her bossy old self, with her hands on her hips.

James smiled, his pupils wide in the dim light of the library. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. But why did you leave me? We should have gone together."

Hermione didn't want to reveal how upset she was over how happy he looked with Lily, so instead she came up with a lie. "I thought it would be easier for just one of us to leave unnoticed." James didn't look convinced. She wondered if he knew that she'd seen him with Lily. "And, I just want to get out of here as quickly as possible."

James looked guilty, and Hermione felt a little bit bad for making him feel bad. Before he could begin to apologize, Hermione shoved her hand against his mouth. "Shh, do you hear that?" She whispered

Coming closer to them was the quiet footsteps. Panicked, Hermione stared into James's hazel eyes. "What do we do?" She asked desperately.

Before she really comprehended what was happening, James shoved her back against the bookcases, the rows of books digging into her back. He pressed his body fully against hers, allowing Hermione to feel the hard expanse of him. She could barely contain a shudder. Pushing a hand into her curls, he pulled her face closer to his until their noses were touching.

And then he pressed his lips against hers. Hermione instantly sagged against him, relishing the feeling of his lips against hers. They felt like a perfect caress, melding together, until they were one. She could just stay here with him forever. He was the perfect combination of powerful and yielding, his lips gliding against hers sensually.

A throat clearing brought Hermione back to reality. James broke apart from her, feigning surprise. "What do we have here?" Lucius Malfoy asked, suspicious.

James gave Lucius a little smile. "Sorry, Malfoy, I just...couldn't wait to get my date home...and my Hermione has a thing for libraries." He tried to look sheepish, and ran a hand through his messy hair.

Hermione looked down at the floor, away from Lucius's steely gray gaze. "Well, maybe the pair of you should get home now." Lucius finally told them, and air of suspicion still in his voice.

Sensing it wasn't a suggestion, James wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his body. "Fair point, Malfoy. We'll leave now." James didn't waste any time leading her out of the library and back to their flat.


	11. Chapter 11

Dislcaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Wow! I love how much you guys loved the party! I know James is a bit dense, but he will eventually come to his senses, I promise! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well - it has some more football (soccer) and features the club I support. Huge thanks to everyone who favorited or followed after last chapter, and big, big thanks to my reviewers: Alice1985, winxgirl1997, twztdwildcat, blackcreed11, 5SecsOfLARRYcat, hannah . kaho, lozzy035, ayuzachan, SereniteRose, Guest, Pwrmom2, xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, chibi-Clar, animelover5197 and BeachGirl114! You guys are so appreciated!

In other exciting news, I finished this story! Some of the later chapters were really hard for me to write, so I hope you like it. It's nineteen chapters, plus an epilogue. We are a little over halfway done now.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter eleven and be on the lookout for chapter twelve later this week! Oh, and go check out my Rabastan/Hermione fic called Be Together, updated Wednesdays!

* * *

When Hermione and James returned home, James took her purse off of her arm. "I will just take this to Order Headquarters." James told her. "I will be right back."

Hermione was annoyed with how blaise he seemed about the whole night. He had just kissed her like...well, it was a wonderful kiss really, one that had her feeling tingles from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. The way that she pressed herself back against him...hadn't a kiss like _that_ meant anything to him?

No, she thought bitterly. Didn't she remember the way he couldn't keep away from Lily? They had been laughing together. James had thrown his head back the way that he only did when he found something really funny. And why did it bother her so much, she wondered. This is what she wanted. This is what she was sent here to do. To get Harry back.

Plus Lily and James just _looked_ right together, didn't they? James was so handsome and Lily was painfully beautiful, with her shining red hair and bright green eyes. Nothing at all like Hermione looked. James would never look at her like that.

Oh god, she realized slowly, horrified. She was _jealous_ of Lily. Suddenly, she felt like she was suffocating with emotions, as she realized what had been staring at her this whole time. She had been falling in love with James Potter over the last three months. He was so...

Tears began to sting her eyes and before she knew it, she was taking a shuddering gasp. Her body shook with the power of huge wracking sobs. Merlin, this was embarrassing, she thought, but she couldn't stop the big salty tears that ran down her face. How did she let herself get into this mess?

Just when she was about to return to her room, Sirius's door creaked open. "Hermione, are you okay?" He asked her, with a sleepy look on his face. Hermione thought about it for a minute, before shaking her head no. Sirius ushered her to come into his room. "Come in, come in."

Once she was inside his messy room, Sirius set her down on his bed, before getting a kleenex and wiping the tears from her face. "Want to talk about it?" He asked her, before sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Oh, Sirius, you will think it is so silly." She told him. "I am so embarrassed."

"I won't tell anyone. Promise." Sirius told her with a small smile on his face. "Marauder's honor."

Hearing that had Hermione giggling a little. She flopped back on his bed, letting her head rest amongst the pillows. "Lily was at the party tonight and I saw her and James talking." She started. She noticed that Sirius immediately began to scowl. "And they just looked so perfect and happy together."

Sirius laid down next to Hermione, turning his body to mirror her own. "So? It's not like they were this perfect couple even when they were dating. I could always tell that something was not quite right, but I wanted to support my friend. Trust me, James won't be getting back with Lily." He brushed some of her brown curly hair out of her face.

"But you didn't see them together. James was laughing and he did that thing of when..." Hermione trailed off, not wanting to seem too obsessed with James. "And then Snape was there asking me how it felt to always be second best. I guess he just got to me a little." Hermione whispered.

That definitely had Sirius annoyed. "Never listen to a word that snake says, Hermione. He's bad news. Trust me."

Hermione was surprised by how close she'd become with Sirius. He was almost like a brother or something, but certainly, he was a very good friend who could always make her laugh. Maybe it was because she knew older Sirius, she just felt so comfortable around him. She snuggled her head against his chest, and sighed when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Can I tell you something, Hermione?" He asked her so quietly, it was nearly a whisper.

Hermione nodded. "Of course you can Sirius."

"I am afraid that if Marlene and I take the next step that...we might end up like my parents." Sirius whispered to her. Earlier that week, Sirius had revealed to her that Marlene had told him that if they didn't get engaged soon, that they couldn't continue dating. Sirius had told her that it wasn't her that he didn't want to marry, it was just that he didn't think he wanted to marry anyone. That had made Marlene quite upset, and she'd asked Sirius to figure out for sure what he wanted, and not to contact her until he could. "They fought constantly and they hated each other. I don't even know how they could stand to be in the same room together."

Hermione instantly thought of Walburga's portrait. She was a horrible woman, after all. She couldn't imagine growing up with her as a mother, let alone her as a wife. "But Sirius, you aren't your parents. Surely, you know that?"

Sirius just shrugged, and was quite for a while. It took a while for Hermione to realize that Sirius was crying. "I just don't know if I...if I can go on without Marlene."

"Oh, Sirius. If you love Marlene, you should be with her. Just go and tell her, explain to her what you are feeling. I am sure she will understand." Hermione told him, returning the comfort that he already gave her. "But I just know, that you won't turn out to be anything like your parents."

Sirius took a deep breath before nodding. He kissed Hermione on the top of the head, softly, still holding her. She felt his breathing even out and decided that he must be slipping off to sleep. "Sirius?"

"Mmm?" He responded, sleepily.

"I think I am falling in love with James." She whispered, so quietly that she didn't even know if he heard. He was silent for another few moments, before answering back. "I know, kitten."

Then Hermione let her own sleepiness wash over her, and she felt her eyes droop closed.

* * *

When James had returned home from Headquarters the night before, he had been disappointed to find Hermione nowhere in sight. He'd hoped that she would have waited up for him, but he figured that she must have gone to bed. It had taken him a little longer than usual to drop off the horcrux, as Moody was acting especially suspicious that evening.

Still, he'd wanted to celebrate with her at their success! She had been particularly brilliant, as he'd heard Narcissa Malfoy asking Amaryllis Parkinson if she'd heard of the made up Italian designer Hermione had mentioned. Not only that, she'd been so beautiful, he could barely keep his eyes off of her.

That was why, when Lucius Malfoy caught them in the library, he wasn't able to help himself, but to kiss her sweet lips...

Maybe it was better that she wasn't up when he returned because he might have taken things a little further than he wanted to. He still wasn't entirely sure what he felt for her.

Still, he was excited to see her that morning, because he had what he thought was a fabulous Christmas present for her that Christmas morning. He could already hear her and Sirius puttering around in the kitchen, making breakfast. Scrambled eggs, at the sound of it, as Hermione was trying to instruct him to make omelettes, but they kept breaking.

Not bothering to change out of his pajamas, he walked to the kitchen, helping himself to some pumpkin juice. Although they lived in the muggle world, he still loved most wizarding treats. Hermione saw him and gave him a small smile, before setting a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him. "Happy Christmas, James."

The three of them sat down together to eat breakfast. Were Sirius and Hermione closer together? James asked himself, jealously. It wasn't possible, he thought, as Sirius was very much into Marlene. Even if they had a rough patch, he wouldn't immediately try to seduce Hermione. Pushing that thought from his mind, he was excited to let Hermione know about the day he had planned for her. "So, Hermione, I have a little Christmas present for you." He said, casually.

"Oh, no! I didn't think to get either of you presents!" Hermione grabbed her face rather comically, James thought, and her worry had him laughing.

"Don't worry, it's nothing too fancy." James told her. When she still didn't look convinced, he elaborated. "I am going to enjoy it too. All you need to know, is to change into something blue after breakfast." He told her with a wink.

* * *

Hermione and James navigated on the underground again to get to Loftus Road for another QPR football match. Hermione was quite excited to go to a match on Christmas day, especially as a present. "So you really figured this out all by yourself?" She asked again, incredulously.

"Yes, I went and I got the tickets early and everything. I hope you don't mind coming to another one of these with me?" James asked, suddenly unsure of himself. Maybe he had overstepped his bounds?

"Of course I don't mind!" Hermione said. She was excited that she had found something that both she and James could enjoy, and more importantly, something that they could do by themselves. "So who are we playing today?" Hermione asked.

"The Tottenham Hotspurs." James told her proudly.

Hermione giggled at him. "It's just 'Hotspur'. You can call them 'Spurs' or 'Tottenham Hotspur', but never 'the Spurs' and definitely never 'The Hotspurs'. Don't ask me why." She said, holding up her hands. "I've never understood it either."

James rolled his eyes, but agreed. "Alright, we are playing Spurs today, then."

"Much better. Spoken like a true football fan." Hermione told him with a smile on her face.

By the time they had gotten to the grounds, James had tentatively reached out and grabbed her hand. Hermione didn't protest, and her small little hand felt like home in his, so he kept it there, trying to disguise the smile on his face.

The game was a blast for Hermione, who was excited to see that James remembered nearly all of the chants that he'd learned at the previous game. He seemed to get even more into it seeing as last time he was still learning the basics of the game.

And although the game ended in a 1-1 draw, when QPR scored their goal, James had wrapped Hermione up in his arms and planted a big kiss on her lips. She had stood there, stunned, while everyone around her celebrated.

Did he realize that he had just kissed her again? Was this a date? What did James Potter want with her?

By the time the game was over, he didn't seem to be bothered by the kiss, and Hermione decided that it must just be that he got caught up in the moment. Still, he slung his arm around her shoulders, as he did more often than not, and guided her safely from the grounds.

It wasn't a date, Hermione finally decided. James just liked football, especially with the Quidditch season still canceled, and Hermione was the only one he knew who also enjoyed the sport. And it was a lovely Christmas present, Hermione decided.

They decided to walk a bit before apparating back home. Even though it was a bit colder than usual, Hermione thought it was nice to be tucked close to James, sharing some warmth with him. When a wintery mix began falling, though, they decided that they should get out of the wet, and apparated back to the flat. Standing in the living room, Hermione pulled herself away from James's grasp. "Thank you for a lovely Christmas, James."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thank you all so much for your support after last chapter! I promise that James and Hermione will get together...eventually. Huge thanks to everyone who favorited/followed last chapter. I cannot believe that this story has over 300 follows and has over 125 favorites! Big ups to my reviewers from last chapter: blackcreed11, animelover5107, winxgirl1997, Pwrmom2, twztdwildcat, lozzy035, xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, Guest 5SecsOfLARRYcat, meldz, SereniteRose, Guest and apriljunemay! You guys are so awesome!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twelve and be on the lookout for chapter thirteen next week! Oh, and enjoy your New Years!

* * *

Hermione was disturbed from her potioneering work by Sirius and James, asking her if she was sure that she had to miss the Order meeting. They were meeting to discuss destruction of the Diary, now that they had retreived both it and the basilisk venom.

"Sorry guys, I really can't leave this potion for that long. You will just have to bring back all the details for me." She gave them a weak smile along with her encouragement.

Sirius looked between James and Hermione to determine if something had happened, because Hermione had been acting significantly more squirrelly lately. Frowning when he couldn't detect anything unusual, he shrugged his shoulders and agreed to give her all the info, dragging James along with him.

While it was true that Hermione's potion required some significant watching over - it was at a critical stage after all - it was really just a convenient excuse to be with herself for an hour or two. She needed space from James, who was treating her like an old friend one minute and then kissing her so passionately the next. It was utterly confusing.

Further, she didn't want to see Lily or Snape at the Order meeting. She didn't want to look on helplessly as James flirted with Lily again, or feel Snape's dark eyes on her, his question floating in the back of her mind.

Once she heard the Floo activate in the other room, she felt all the tension leave her body, and settled in for a bit of peace.

* * *

"James!" The voice called out across the room as soon as he'd stepped through the Floo. "Sirius! So glad to see you!"

It was Peter, their old friend from Gryffindor. They both hugged the other boy, enthusiastically. "How are you doing mate? It's been nearly nine months!" Sirius exclaimed.

James felt a bit of tension forming in his belly, thinking of how Hermione had told him that Peter Pettigrew was the one who had betrayed him and Lily in her time line. That he was a death eater.

But then, he looked at his friend, and his worries started to unravel. Peter, a death eater? He looked exactly the same as James remembered him. He was smiling, rosy cheeked and full of life, desperate to be a part of the action. He looked like he'd gained a little weight since their graduation, but then again, he'd always been a bit pudgy. Peter would never betray him...they were best friends. "Do you know where you're staying?" He asked.

Before Peter could answer, Professor Dumbledore called the meeting to order. With everyone quieting down and getting settled, Dumbledore shared the good news. "We were able to get the second horcrux from Malfoy Manor. It is safely under lock and key until we can schedule a time to destroy it."

A little cheer broke out among the members. "And the basilisk venom? Has the girl gotten that too?" Moody asked gruffly. Although he had to admit that Hermione could hold her own, being very impressed with her work with the first horcrux, he still didn't love how secretive she was. That girl was hiding something, he just knew it.

"Yes." Dumbledore told the group, looking over them. "We were able to procure some basilik venom from a farmer who happened on a dead basilisk in China, most fortunately." Dumbledore smiled, thinking that chance was on their side. "Now, do we have any volunteers to aid in the destruction of the Diary?"

James remembered all the awful things that the Diadem had brought up, and how he'd floundered against it. He didn't want to face another horcrux ever again. Feeling like a coward, he kept his hand firmly at his side. Hm, some Gryffindor he was, he thought, maybe the horcrux was right about him after all.

Instead Sirius was quick to put up his arm. "I'll do it, and I am sure that Hermione would like to be a part of it." James was sure that this was something Hermione wouldn't mind volunteering for.

"I will also help out." Kingsley Shacklebolt said across the room. He was an auror, and it would be good to have him around.

"Excellent." Dumbledore told the group. "I will owl you the information of when we plan to destroy it. Well, unless there is any other business….meeting adjourned."

In all of the commotion of people leaving, the boys were barely able to find a quiet area to continue their talk. Sirius laughed at Peter, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face. "Merlin, Pete, you look warm. You can take off your sweater you know? It's not a formal event."

Peter just laughed it off. "Actually, I think I will leave it on for now. We are about to leave anyway." HIs reluctance had James's mind whirring again. Why wouldn't he take off the sweater if he was hot? Could he be hiding the dark mark on his arm right now?"

"Are you going to be staying with us?" Sirius asked eagerly. "We could go for a drink. There is the best pub down the road from the flat."

Peter just shook his head. "I won't be staying with you actually." He gave his friends a sly smile. "I am actually going for drinks with Mary MacDonald tonight."

Sirius punched Peter in the arm. "Ah, finally brought her around did you?"

James smiled at the pair of his friends. Peter _had_ been after Mary the last two of their years at Hogwarts, and he knew his friend was likely over the moon to get a chance with the girl.

"Well, if things go well, I suppose I will be staying with her tonight, but if not, I will just head back to my aunt's." Peter told them, unable to stop his grin.

James felt that sense of unease trickling in again. "How is she, your aunt?"

"Oh, well, she is okay." Peter said calmly. "She just needs so much help doing basic tasks. I am lucky my mom would even take over tonight." Sighing, Peter shook his head. "Anyway, I don't want to keep Mary waiting, so I'd better get going."

James and Sirius said their goodbyes, before making their own way to the Floo. James was certain that he wanted to talk to Hermione a little bit more about what she knew about Peter.

* * *

After Hermione had finished the potion, she quickly placed it in vials, labeled them, and put them in a box, ready to be sent off to the Ministry. Standing up from her desk, she rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension that had built up. When was the last time she'd done something nice just for herself, she wondered.

Looking at her unmade bed, she walked towards it, unbuttoning her jeans along the way, and pushing them down her shapely legs. Stepping out of them, she left them on the floor. Next, she lifted up the shirt that she was wearing, pulling it off of her body, leaving it on the floor with her denims.

When she laid down on the top of her bed, she was dressed in just a black lace lingerie set. Sighing, she decided that she could have a little fun with herself. After all, the boys should be gone for another hour or so, which would be more than enough time. Merlin, she wished she was doing this with someone else, instead of by herself.

Reaching behind her, she unclasped the bra that she was wearing, pulling it off of her shoulders and dropping it to the floor next to her bed. Closing her eyes, she let his finger trail up her sides, from her waist to the top of her breasts. The teasing touch had her shivering in anticipation.

She let her fingers dance over her nipples, until they were hard little peaks. Then, she pinched and rolled them between her fingertips, palming her whole breast when the sensation became too much. In her mind, her lover would have calloused hands from years of playing quidditch.

Letting one hand trail back down her body and into her knickers, she hissed at the wetness that had gathered there. Her lover would tell her how excited he was that she was so wet for him. He'd give her one of those infuriating arrogant smirks when she moaned at his touch, his messy black hair falling into his eyes. He'd gently rub the little ball of nerves at the top of her sex in slow circles, letting her slowly build up. Then, fingertips sliding through her folds, he'd let one of his fingers enter her, teasing, rhythmically. He'd look at her with those hazel eyes and bring his fingertip back to her clit, with more urgency this time, making her moan out loud, keening for release.

He'd let her teeter on the edge of release, her body tight with anticipation, desperate to fall over the edge of orgasmic bliss, and then -

The door to her bedroom burst open. Hermione's eyes widened in shock as she stared back at James Potter, who'd just come into her room, for real, without knocking. She quickly removed her hand from her knickers, her guilt at being caught not manifesting through her rage at a private moment like that being interrupted.

James stood there, eyes open, staring at the pile of clothes leading to the bed, and Hermione perched naked on top of it, red and flushed with pleasure. He was pretty sure his jaw had literally dropped. She was so much more than he could have imagined, her breasts small and perky with hard pink nipples, her waist trim and the rest of her hidden by a scrap of black lace!

Finally, taking control of the situation, Hermione frantically covered herself with a blanket from the bed. "What are you doing?" She demanded. "Get out before I hex you!"

James seemed to get the message, and turned tail, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione sat on the bed once he'd left, all desire gone from her body. She'd never been so humiliated in her life. She just knew that James would never want her now...he'd been absolutely horrified to see her. Blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes, she got up from bed and redressed.

* * *

"My Lord." The man offered, prostrate before the waxy visage of Lord Voldemort. "I have some information that you might find interesting."

The red eyes looked the man up and down, with skepticism. "Go on then."

"The Order, they are hunting for horcruxes. Apparently, they have destroyed one already, and they have another in their possession, retrieved from Malfoy Manor." The man said, no glee in his voice, only fear.

Voldemort practically hissed from his chair. "And how do they know about them?" He demanded.

The man was shaking now. "I do not know for certain how they know about them." Voldemort raised his wand, as if to curse the man, who squealed and moved away from the much more powerful wizard. "Please don't hurt me! Please! I think I have an idea."

"Well, spit it out then. I don't have time for this." Voldemort groused.

Taking a deep breath, the man continued. "They have a new member, a woman. It seems that she is the one that knew about the horcruxes...and she is the one that knows how to destory them as well."

Frozen in thought, Voldemort sat silent for minute. "What is this woman called?"

"I believe she's called...Hermione."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Wow - sorry I forgot about that little bit being in the last chapter, where James walks in on her. I wanted to give you a heads up, so apologizes. I hope you enjoy chapter thirteen...things are going to start picking up! Huge thanks to those of you who favorited or followed after last chapter. Big thanks to my reviewers: winxgirl1997, lozzy035, M1sch1efManaged, xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, masoxrista, twztdwildcat, animelover5107, Pwrmom2, chibi-Clar, SereniteRose, janethejhon, Lizzy B and everlastingtrueromance! You guys rock, thank you so much for your encouragement! If I missed you, I apologize; FanFiction has been having some issues with the reviews the past few days.

Please let me know what you think of chapter thirteen and be on the lookout for chapter fourteen later this week!

* * *

Dumbledore arranged for them to destroy the diary before the New Year, not wanting to hold onto the dark artifact longer than he needed to. Hermione had been desperate to get out of the flat, so she was eager to return to Hogwarts, even if it meant dealing with a horcrux.

She was still so embarrassed about James walking in on her during such a private moment. Merlin, she still couldn't forget the look on his face. She was sure that he probably found her disgusting, and especially doing that. Not to mention that she was thinking about him while she was doing it. She wasn't sure when it had happened, but over the months that they spent together, Hermione found herself falling for James. And his kiss at the Manor had been so intoxicating.

But for him to just barge into her room like that...

Shaking the embarrassment from her head, she needed to focus and remove any negativity before she went to face the horcrux. She knew that it would prey on whoever was weakest and she didn't want Sirius or Dumbledore knowing her secrets.

When she and Sirius tumbled out of the floo and into Dumbledore's office, Kingsley was already there waiting for them. Hermione's spirits were buoyed at seeing the tall black man, familiar gold hoop earring in his right ear. She smiled and shook his hand when Sirius introduced them. "Hermione, this is Kingsley. We work together in the auror department."

"Hermione Granger." She replied with a smile. His handshake was firm and reassuring.

"I know who you are, Hermione Granger." His deep voice filled the Headmaster's office.

"Ah, now that introductions have been made, we can head down to the classroom." Dumbledore said, with a delighted look on his face. Dumbledore had spent the last two days fortifying an unused classroom with Minerva and Filius, just in case anything should get out of hand. "Do you have the venom, Hermione?"

Hermione held up a little package that contained the basilisk venom. With the necessary items in hand, Dumbledore lead the four of them to the unused classroom on the third floor.

Hermione tried not to think about the dread that was settling in her stomach with each step closer to the room. When the arrived, Dumbledore placed the diary on the table - the only bit of furniture in the room - and looked at the other three participants. "Well, shall we? Hermione would you like to do the honors?"

Hermione looked at the other three men, before nodding shakily. The vial containing the basilisk venom had a little dropper and Hermione just hoped that they had enough to destroy this horcrux and the others. Unstoppering the vial, she filled the dropped before holding it tenuously over the diary, open, showing it's blank pages. Taking a deep breath, Hermione watched as drop after drop after drop of bright green venom fell through the air and onto the white page.

For a moment, it seemed as though nothing had happened, but quickly, ink began to well up from in between the pages, saturating it with dark magic. The ink quickly overran the diary and dripped off the table and onto the floor, falling around Hermione's feet. It was thick and black and coated everything that it touched, including Hermione's shoes.

Hermione watched on in horror at the ink spill grew larger and larger, until it slowly formed into the shape of a human. Not knowing who to expect, Hermione was powerless to look away as it quickly became her friend, Ginny Weasley. Hermione frowned as Ginny became impossibly beautiful, a wisp of a memory. The vial laid in Hermione's shaking hand.

Suddenly, she was embarrassed to realized that the three wizards might mistake her for Lily Evans. Ginny gave Hermione a disdainful look. "You stupid bitch." Ginny said with a haughty laugh. "I gave you one job and you couldn't even do it. All I wanted was my Harry back. Now he is dead."

Hermione felt tears in her eyes. Ginny was right, she'd made a complete mess of everything. "I tried Ginny, but there was nothing I could do! They were already separated when I got here."

Ginny's face was morphed by anger, the likes of which Hermione had never seen before. "Don't make me laugh, you haven't made a real effort. Instead you've been wasting your time falling in love." Ginny told her with a mocking tone. "Face it Hermione Granger, you are a failure, and it's all you'll ever be."

Hermione felt the tears on her face running down her cheeks at a steady clip. In the background, she could hear Sirius trying to get her attention, but she couldn't make out the words he was shouting over the haunting echo of Ginny's voice.

She felt her fingers slipping around the glass vial holding the basilisk venom, but before she could drop it, Sirius made it to her side, wrapping his hands around the vial. He refilled the dropper before letting ten or twelve drops of venom fall onto the diary in a steady stream.

With a great scream, the ink Ginny fell to the ground, splashing around their feet like water, before disappearing with an inhuman scream.

Hermione blinked slowly and desperately wiped the tears from her face, not wanting anyone to see her weakness. Sirius laid his arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture. "Come on, kitten, let's get out of here."

* * *

The days after the New Year were quiet. Remus had come home for a few days to celebrate with his friends, ringing in the new year, before being forced to return to the harsh forests of Northern Scotland to continue his work with the werewolves up there.

Sirius had somehow reconnected with Marlene, explaining the situation to her, just as Hermione had suggested. It seemed that the blonde girl was willing to wait for Sirius to get used to the idea of being bound forever, and it actually seemed like Sirius was coming around to the idea.

But it wasn't until January 7th when Regulus had finally used his portkey. James and Sirius were sitting on the couch with Hermione in between them after a long night of drinking. James and Sirius had purchased a television when they learned what one was, and Hermione helped set it up to run in their heavily fortified flat as a Christmas present. Hermione was happy to read a book instead of watching the tele, trying not to get too distracted by the fact that both her roommates were currently only wearing white t-shirts and boxers.

When Regulus tumbled into the room, immediately in front of the television, all hell broke loose. Sirius took one look at his younger brother before standing and having his wand under his kin's chin. "What the fuck do you think you are doing here, Death Eater scum?"

Hermione stood and tugged on Sirius's wand arm. "Sirius, please don't hurt him, I invited him here."

Sirius turned to glare at Hermione, his wand now trained on her nose. "Why would you bring him into the wards? This flat was untraceable and now everything is ruined."

Hermione desperately tried to defuse the situation, but Regulus wasn't helping matters. "Maybe she just prefers my cock to yours, brother." That had James standing, his wand aimed at Regulus's face.

Seeing James's response, Regulus looked her up and down in surprise. "Are you fucking both of them?"

"Enough!" Hermione shouted, before firing a series of petrifying charms at the three men in the room. "Now, just sit there, and let me explain things." Once she'd hovered the three men to the couch, making sure that there was a good amount of space between the two brothers, Hermione allowed herself to take a deep breath.

"We are at war. This means that we will all have to do things that we don't particularly care for. But we do it anyway, because it will make the world a better place." She was pacing along the length of the couch. "I've invited Regulus here because he knows where one of the horcruxes is. Isn't that right?"

Regulus made a muffled sort of noise, the most that he could while still petrified.

Hermione smiled. "Excellent. He wouldn't be here if it weren't for the horcrux. And for what Voldemort did to Kreacher." Seeing a tentative trust in all of their eyes, Hermione decided she could partially release them. "Now, if you promise to behave, I will let you all speak."

Once she heard three similar grunts, she let their heads go from the spell, and watched as Sirius and Regulus turned to look at one another. "What did he do to Kreacher?" Sirius asked. Although Sirius didn't particularly care for Kreacher, he knew how much that house elf meant to his brother.

Regulus visibly flinched to the memory of how he'd found Kreacher. "He made him go to cave off on a seaside cliff. He had Kreacher drink a horrific potion and nearly left the poor old bastard for dead."

Sirius felt himself soften at the words of his brother. Although there was no love lost between Kreacher and Sirius, Sirius also knew how much that dodgy old house elf meant to his little brother. "Sorry, mate."

"It's not just that." Regulus continued. "Father is dead." He said quietly. "We buried him on Thursday."

Sirius felt tears spring in the corner of his eyes. He hadn't _thought_ about his father in nearly three years, ever since he and that harpy kicked him out of Grimmauld Place. But, he still remembered some of the good memories of his childhood with the tall, black haired man reading to him in the library. "How did he go?" Sirius asked as respectfully as possible.

"Heart attack." Regulus told him quietly. "It was quick." Regulus had thought it a bit ironic that Orion Black had been betrayed by his own body, when he was one of the most paranoid people he knew. Grimmauld Place was practically a fortress.

Regulus turned to look at Hermione, finally really looking at her, instead of just as some nameless woman in his brother's flat. "You and my brother aren't fucking then, I take it?"

Hermione blushed at the idea that Regulus had not included James name in the equation. "No, Sirius has a rather lovely girlfriend called Marlene, who I would not want to meet on the other side of a wand if she thought we were carrying on behind her back."

"So you are H?" He asked her, with a hint of annoyance to learn that she was just a teenaged girl.

Hermione nodded. "Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you." Seeing Regulus dressed up in black velvet made her suddenly feel self conscious in her flannel pajamas.

"Hermione." Regulus let her name roll around in his mouth once, trying to place it. Then, with an imperceptible flinch on his part, he remembered why the name was familiar. "You do know that the Dark Lord has a target on your head? Alive."

Hermione felt her chest tighten in fear. She didn't know that she was on Voldemort's radar yet. She'd hoped that he would blissfully ignorant to her presence until they'd destroyed a few more horcruxes. Further, she realized that the only people who knew who she was were members of the Order.

Feeling that the three boys could be trusted to behave, she realized them completely from their bonds, before flopping down into a chair in complete exasperation. Why was everything falling on her shoulders this time?

Regulus looked at her with curiosity. "So what are we going to do with the horcrux?"

Hermione met his dark eyes grimly. "We're going to destroy it."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Wow, so pleased that everyone likes Regulus coming back. There will be more of him in this chapter, of course, and I hope you don't mind how the business with the locket goes. Also, James is making...progress.

Huge thanks to everyone who favorited/followed after last chapter. Big thanks to my reviewers: winxgirl1997, twztdwildcat (they are both pretending like it never happened, haha), blackcreed11, Pwrmom2, animelover5107, unicornz . 334, M1sch1efManaged (unfortunately, no one seems to take Hermione's knowledge of him seriously), SereniteRose, chibi-Clar, lozzy035, xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, twilightlover427, apriljunemay, chrissieattheend (thank you!), Charlie0925, and moonlightkiss1515! You guys are seriously so awesome!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter fourteen and be on the lookout for chapter fifteen next week!

* * *

James and Sirius felt very put out at not being allowed to go to the cave with Regulus and Hermione to retrieve the horcrux. They had been pouting all week, whenever Hermione was planning the operation, and would loudly sigh or mumble just to annoy her.

Not only that, but Sirius must have told James what he'd seen when Hermione had destroyed the horcrux because he pulled her aside the morning that they were set to leave. "Please don't do this alone, Hermione." His hazel eyes were overflowing with hidden meaning that made Hermione's breath stick in her throat.

"I won't be alone. Regulus will be with me." Hermione told him, trying to be reassuring.

"I know it's just..." James started, before running his hand through his messy, black hair. "I know how the horcruxes get in at you, in ways that you could never imagine. They find things out about you that you don't even recognize, and I know how much Harry has affected you. I don't want you to have to fight that on your own, Hermione."

Hermione sighed. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"But, I just..." James leaned towards her, and for a moment, Hermione thought that he was going to kiss her. And a _real_ kiss, not just one to be mistaken as joyous celebration or play pretend to get Lucius Malfoy off his trail. But then he pulled back. "I really care for you, Hermione."

Hermione felt her heart melting at his words. Sure it wasn't a confession of love, but she was sure that he did care for her. He wanted her to do well and succeed and he was worried about her. Closing her eyes, and drawing a deep breath, Hermione gathered her Gryffindor courage. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she kissed James's cheek quickly, and before he could protest, she was making her goodbyes. "I promise to come straight back here when were are finished."

Then, she turned to face an awkward Sirius and Regulus, who were trying to act like they definitely weren't eavesdropping on the conversation. Hermione walked up to Regulus, refusing to look at Sirius who seemed to be bursting, and addressed him directly. "Are you ready to go?"

Regulus cleared his throat and nodded, before calling for Kreacher. Sirius finally had her attention, and opened his arms for a hug. "Be safe, Hermione. Watch after my little brother."

Hermione smiled. "I will, I promise. Now, you and James will be reading up on the Gaunt family while we are away?" Hermione didn't wait for an answer and instead turned to face a frightened Kreacher.

He didn't look any younger than she remembered him, but the house elf was currently begging Regulus not to make him go back to the cave on the seaside cliff. Kreacher was holding tightly onto Regulus's legs and huge tears were forming in his unnaturally large eyes. "Please Master Regulus, you promised Kreacher he would never have to return to the bad place."

Regulus was very patient with the little elf, treating him very kindly, which did warm Hermione's heart to the younger man. "You need only to bring me and my companion there, Kreacher. You don't even need to take more than one step into the cave, I promise." He told Kreacher, earnestly.

Finally Kreacher relented, hearing that Regulus would have a companion. "Alright, Master Regulus."

Satisfied, Regulus motioned for Hermione. "Hermione, ready to go?" He asked, quietly. Hermione nodded and moved to stand next to Regulus, the vial of basilisk venom safely stored in the little bag that she had on her side.

Kreacher took one look at Hermione and seemed to make a hissing noise. "Master Regulus, Kreacher is to aide this...mudblood filth?"

Hermione could hear Sirius swearing in the background, annoyed with her treatment by Kreacher, but Hermione didn't mind. She was used to the house elf and knew that it was just a byproduct of living with Walburga.

Regulus looked sheepish. "Kreacher, you will cease from calling my companion that name." Regulus then took Hermione's hand and offered his other to the house elf. "To the cave, now, Kreacher."

With a click of Kreacher's fingers the trio were standing in the mouth of a huge dark cave. Kreacher was already shaking again, in fear of what was to come. He still remembered the burning. Seeing his house elf was clearly in distress, Regulus took pity on him and ordered him back to Grimmauld Place, but also that he was never to say a word about this to anyone.

Hermione looked around. Harry had finally broken down and told her the story of the time he and Dumbledore had come to this cave, when his nightmare's woke her up for the umpteenth time. It was during the time that Ron had left them alone together. It didn't look like anything Hermione would have imagined.

Regulus found the chain and the boat began to slip out of the water. When the boat got to the shore, the pair of them stared at one another. "The boat only allows one of age wizard in it at a time. That's why Voldemort needed Kreacher." _And why Dumbledore needed Harry_. Hermione thought to herself.

"It needs to be me." Regulus said, resolve on his face. In this moment, he looked so much like Sirius did. Of course they were brothers, but Hermione didn't really see a lot of similarities until now because Sirius was constantly trying to distance himself from being a Black.

Hermione also understood his desire to do this job on his own, knowing that Regulus was doing this for Kreacher. In her time, Regulus had grown doubtful of Voldemort and his visions of the future, but what really set him off was his love for his house elf. Hermione was happy to allow him this, so long as he understood everything that he was being asked to do. "At the other side of the lake is a potion you will have to drink."

Regulus paled, but nodded. "I know, Kreacher told me." Regulus remembered the poor old house elf telling him about the burning. "I can handle it."

Hermione swallowed, thinking of Dumbledore. Harry had said Dumbledore had crumpled like a child and had to be forced to continue drinking. No offense to Regulus, but he wasn't nearly as formidable as her former headmaster. She nodded in agreement of him. "Regulus, I am not leaving this cave with the horcrux intact. It will be destroyed before I go."

Regulus seemed to understand what she was hinting at. "I understand. I want the same thing that you do. You shouldn't feel afraid to imperious me if you need to. Are you able to produce the curse?"

She felt the dread settle in the pit of her stomach. That was an eventuality she hoped that she didn't need to come to, but she was willing to if need be. She nodded stiffly. "We all have to do somethings that we are uncomfortable with, if it means winning the war."

"Speaking of," Regulus said with a rye smile. "In case I don't make it out of this cave alive. I, Regulus Arcturus of House Black, head of my family, do reinstate Sirius Orion of House Black to the Black family, giving him all of his lands and titles and inheritances, including making him Head of House."

Hermione watched as a little magic swirled around Regulus, and smiled, thinking of how annoyed Sirius was going to be when he found out. Regulus then walked confidently into the boat and proceeded across the water. The boat worked slowly across the water, and Regulus became smaller and smaller as he moved farther away from her.

Before she knew it, he was stepping out of the boat and head for the little pillar, which held the locate. She watched as he took the small offered cup and began drinking the potion. It was obvious the moment that it touched his lips how he was affected by it. She watched as his knees weakened, and he held himself up by the pillar, but still he did not stop drinking.

His agonized cries rippled across the still water to her ears, but still he continued to drink, his resolve for Kreacher strong. She could see him shaking his head as if to say no, but still he brought the cup to his mouth and drank of his own volition until the potion was gone. Hermione held onto her wand tightly, her knuckles turning white in fear for her new friend.

Finally, when he was done, she watched as he took the locket and placed it into his pocket. Now all that he would have to do would be to get into the boat and head back across the lake. Hermione watched as he stumbled towards the water's edge, thinking that he was headed towards the boat. She was almost too late when she realized that he was actually trying to drink.

"Regulus! You mustn't touch the water!" She commanded from across the lake, her voice disturbing the still. But he didn't even look up at her, instead inching closer and closer to the water. "Regulus, please!"

When she finally understood that he wasn't listening to her, she gripped her wand tighter. "Imperio." Hermione watched nervously as he stopped for a moment, before his crawling descent began again. This time she called out with more purpose and feeling. "Imperio!" She watched as Regulus's form suddenly halted its slow descent towards the water. Hermione sighed, glad to see the immediate threat had passed.

She ordered him into the boat and when he made his way safely back across the lake, she gave him some healing potions and water. When she was certain he wouldn't make a mad dash towards the lake, she let the curse drop, feeling the weight of the dark magic leave her body. Regulus relaxed as well. "I am sorry, but, the lake is filled with inferi."

Regulus nodded, looking at the lake, not upset at all that she had saved him. Hermione wasn't about to tell him that the inferi had killed him the last time he'd tried this, but he'd had a very bad feeling from the moment that he'd entered the cave. "Well, shall we destroy it?" He asked, pulling the garish locket from his pocket.

Hermione could already hear it whispering it's poison and shook her head quickly. "Yes, let's just get it over with." She began fishing around her bag for the vial of basilisk venom.

"You said that fiendfyre will destroy it too?" Regulus asked. Hermione agreed, not looking up from her search. "Let's just use that. This way, no muggles might stumble upon the cave, it will get rid of the inferi too."

Seeing the logic in Regulus's plan, Hermione agreed. "Alright, you cast it and as soon as it takes hold, I will apparate us back."

Regulus dropped the locket to the ground and moved his wand in a dramatic circle, forming the curse. Almost instantly, the locket began screaming in pain and the force of the fire filled the cave with a white hot heat. Once they were sure it was going, Hermione grabbed Regulus's hand and popped them back to her flat.

Sirius and James were waiting there for them, and immediately rushed at them. Sirius was checking Regulus over for injuries. James pulled Hermione into a bone crushing hug, before pulling away. He could smell the smoke on her clothes and knew what they had done to get rid of the horcrux.

He pulled back to look into her eyes, to see if everything was okay. Finding only success in her honey brown eyes, James didn't hesitate this time, and pressed his lips against hers, their lips fitting together perfectly. Hermione sighed and felt the tension leave her body, and relax, as she only could around James. He made her feel safe.

Parting, James looked over at the two others in the room. He released Hermione from his hug, but maintained one arm around her waist. "Well, another success like this calls for drinks. Shall we go celebrate?"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Wow! I am so pleased you guys - over 150 favorites and 400 follows! Thank you so much! Huge thanks to my reviewers as well: xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, Guest, SereniteRose, Pwrmom2, winxgirl1997, twztdwildcat, xliberte, lozzy035, unicornz . 334, blackcreed11, chibi-Clar, alexandra . arias9054, animelover5107, Guest and pianomouse! Thank you so much for your kind words - I am glad that you don't mind what happened with Regulus and are glad that he is alive. There are only five chapters left (for a total of 20), so get ready for some quick pace in the next few installments.

I would love to hear what you thought of chapter fifteen and be on the lookout for chapter sixteen later this week! Oh, and please check out my Rabmione - Be Together - as it will be updated tomorrow!

* * *

"How could you do this to me Regulus?" Sirius demanded, his hands tangled in his long hair. "I gave up on my family years ago, before I was burned off of the tapestry, when I didn't live up to their expectations and landed in Gryffindor." Sirius had been adamantly angry this whole time, so incensed by what Regulus had told him.

"Come on, I don't see why this is such a big deal Sirius." Regulus tried. "I reinstated you to the family."

"Not just that, you made me fucking Head of House!" Sirius shouted, pacing back and forth. "Do you know all of the fucking responsibilities that means?"

"Well, yeah, what do you think mother and father have been teaching me all of these last summers while you've been off gallivanting with Potter?" Regulus accused.

"Exactly, they have been grooming you. You should be Head of House. I don't want this." Sirius told him

The pair had been going on like this basically since Hermione and Regulus had returned to the flat and they had gotten celebration of the destruction of the horcrux out of the way. No one mentioned that they had used fiendfyre, but it seemed that both James and Sirius could tell from the awkward way that they were acting.

Now, Hermione sat nestled next to James on the couch and watched the two brothers argue back and forth, but the wheels were slowly turning in her head. "Sirius, remember how I told you that we are all going to have to do things that we are uncomfortable with to get this done? This will just have to be one of those things."

Sirius stopped and looked at her, confused. "Yes, but what does that have to do with fighting Voldemort? It sounds like a reintroduction into a society that hates me."

Hermione took a deep breath before deciding to speak. "I think that Bellatrix has another horcrux in her vault at Gringotts."

Regulus looked at her horrified. "You mean there is more than one of those things?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, five actually, if my count is correct. Tonight is number three of five that we have destroyed, but we are still looking for two. I am fairly positive that Bellatrix is keeping Hufflepuff's Cup in her vault, but we still have no idea where Marvolo Gaunt's ring would be." She was entirely sure that they could trust Regulus, as he was only concerned with the locket last time, but she figured after the night that they spent together, he would be trustworthy.

"I still don't see what _that_ has to do with me becoming Head of House of the Black family." Sirius said, petulantly.

Hermione practically rolled her eyes at him. "How is it that I know more about pureblood customs than you? If you are Head of House, you can have access to any family member's vault. If Bellatrix has any Black family jewels or whatever in her vault, you can have access to it."

Sirius started to put two and two together. "Which means that we can get the Cup and destroy it."

Hermione nodded. "Exactly, but we will need a plausible reason for why you would need entry into her vault, so as not to raise suspicions. We need to go to the Order for this."

* * *

An all hands Order meeting was scheduled the night after Hermione and Regulus destroyed the locket. It was told that everyone who could come should come, but it was a surprisingly low turn out. Dumbledore lead the meeting as usual, and shared with everyone the good news that they had destroyed yet another horcrux.

"Have you had any luck locating the ring yet, Dumbledore?" Hermione asked. In her time, Dumbledore had found the ring on his own, but they had no idea how he actually found it or where it might be hiding. Sirius and James's research on the Gaunt family hadn't really turned up too much interesting information other than the fact that they were related to the Prevell brothers and Slytherin of course.

Dumbledore seemed a bit flustered to announce his own lack of progress on the ring's location, but Hermione didn't think too much of it when he switched gears and began discussing the retrieval of the Cup. "We have reason to believe that it is in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange, but we have access to it through an old loophole of pureblood custom."

Hermione cleared her throat. "I think that a male-female pair for the retrieval of the Cup would be best. If we frame the Gringott's visit as a visit to look at family jewelry for an engagement, I think it would raise fewer eyebrows."

"Perhaps, McKinnon should accompany Black then?" Mad-Eyed Moody suggested, but then hesitated seeing Marlene's face turn bright red in embarrassment.

Sirius looked at Marlene guiltily before clearing his throat. "Uh, perhaps I could speak to Marlene in private for a few minutes?" He asked the room.

Everyone hesitated for a moment, but then began breaking off into their own little groups to talk amongst themselves. Hermione gave Sirius a smile of encouragement before he walked over to Marlene. She shushed James so that she could listen in on their conversation.

"Marlene, I've given it a lot of thought and I do want to be with you." He told her earnestly. "I was just afraid that we would end up like my parents...you know bitterly unhappy. But I have it on good authority that if we love each other, and I do, I do love you Marlene, we wouldn't be like that." He took a deep breath, looking at the girl. "So, if you'll have me Marlene, I'd love to spend the rest of my life with you."

Hermione waited to hear a response, but didn't hear Marlene react. After a few moments she was annoyed by how she still hadn't said anything to such a moving speech, so she turned around, only to see the blonde girl wrapped up in Sirius's arms, snogging the daylight out of him.

Hermione turned and smiled to herself. She guessed Marlene was on board for the plan then.

* * *

Marlene had met them early at the flat the next morning to review the logistics of the plan. Today, she and Sirius would be reviewing Black family vaults to find her the perfect engagement ring, and hopefully a horcrux as well.

Hermione handed her the Chanel bag that had been fortified for the concealment of horcruxes and Marlene clutched it like it was a life line. "Just remember to summon the Cup, but don't touch it. It's likely that Bellatrix will have placed protective enchantments on it. Do you remember what the Cup looks like?"

Marlene nodded. Hermione had tracked down a drawing of what the Cup looked like so they would be able to identify it.

"It's going to be okay. I will be outside of Gringotts waiting to see if any trouble shows up and I will warn you." Hermione said, trying to sound soothing. She would be waiting outside of Gringotts by herself. James was supposed to be with her but the Wizengamot had called an emergency session on werewolf control measures, so James thought he owed it to Remus to be there, and Hermione was inclined to agree.

Sirius cautiously looked between the two girls. "Well, shall we go then?" With a nod from both of them, he took their hands and apparated them all into Diagon Alley. They walked purposefully towards Gringott's and when they got to the doors, Hermione wished the pair luck before finding a good spot to wait for them.

Sirius guided Marlene across the long entrance room to the little counter where the goblin was waiting to take someone down. After confirming the accuracy of Sirius's claim to the House of Black, the pair were ensconced in a trolley and taken down into the depths of the bank, towards Sirius's vault.

Marlene had grabbed a hold of Sirius's hand and hadn't let go the whole trolley ride down. At first, they stopped at the real Black vault, and looked around for about fifteen minutes at rings. Marlene actually very quickly found the ring that she would want for an engagement ring, and Sirius's put it in his pocket so that they could get it checked out for curses later. You could never be too certain with Black family jewelry.

The next stop on their list was to Andromeda Tonks' vault, which they found to be a very healthy vault, but completely devoid of Black family jewels. It seemed that she had completely left her family behind. After leaving Tonks' vault, they stopped at Narcissa Malfoy's vault, and found it overflowing with Black family jewelry. They picked through some of the rings, but didn't find anything worth noting, and Marlene still loved the ring in Sirius's pocket.

Finally, they made their way to Bellatrix Lestrange's vault, the whole reason they had come to Gringott's. Marlene's body was tight with anticipation of what they would find, and the goblin in their trolley seemed to be a little suspicious of them stopping at this particular vault, but with his family ring, Sirius couldn't be argued with.

Stepping out of the trolley, Sirius opened the door to Bellatrix's vault and led Marlene inside. She could barely contain the gasp at seeing the mountains of coins and other goods in the vault. Remembering what the Cup looked like, Marlene began shrewdly looking around. She wasn't going to let the Order down.

* * *

Hermione was waiting outside of Gringott's, feeling perhaps more nervous than the time that she had broken into the bank herself and flew out on a dragon. Were Marlene and Sirius having trouble? She knew that they were both very capable wizards, but the goblins were tricky and they didn't appreciate serving anyone. What if the Cup wasn't even in the vault? She had no indication of when Bellatrix would have received the artifact.

Looking around Diagon Alley, Hermione began to think about her relationship with James. She knew that they were friends, but the way that he'd kissed her the night before made her think that perhaps there could be more. Still, she didn't want to be second best to Lily, and if he wanted another shot with Lily, then he should go for it. But Hermione wasn't going to wait around for him to come to his senses. She would not have a repeat of the Ron-Lavender situation from sixth year. Regulus was very attractive, and they had a lot on common. Perhaps she could discuss house elf rights with him over dinner some time.

Suddenly, Hermione felt her hairs on her arm stand up, an impending sense of danger settling in her stomach. Was it just her or did Diagon Alley seem unusually quiet for a weekend? True the holidays had passed and people were less likely to be shopping, but this seemed unusual, even in a time when Death Eater attacks were relatively common.

She saw a flutter of black out of the corner of her eye first. Turning, she saw three masked men, in full Death Eater regalia, marching with purpose towards the bank. They weren't running, just calmly marching ahead. TIghtening her fingers around her wand, she summoned her patronus, and sent it off with a message to James, Sirius, and Professor Dumbledore, whilst hiding behind a pillar, out of sight of the trio of Death Eaters.

Hermione watched as the little otter swam away, before taking a defensive stance. It had been a while since she'd actively fought Death Eaters, but it wasn't as though she'd forgotten how to fight. The first diffindo came at her in a flash of light green, but it bounced meaninglessly off of her shield charm.

That was when the Death Eaters seemed to realize that she wasn't just some passerby, but an adversary. And that was when the fighting really began.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: First, in other news, I have started writing a Back to the Future sequel! I am hoping to begin publishing in late February. However, if you haven't read Back to the Future, you should definitely go and check it out! It's Sirius/Hermione, and an homage to the movie.

Thank you to everyone who favorited or followed after last chapter! Huge thanks to my reviewers from last chapter: xXMiss Alec VolturiXx, unicornz . 334, winxgirl1997, Pwrmom2, lozzy035, SereniteRose, Guest, AnimeLover5107, chibi-Clar, hollowg1rl (wow! thank you so much! I am glad it seems realistic, and I hope you continue to like my Dumbledore), twztdwildcat, and blackcreed11! You guys are awesome!

So many of you loved the Regulus contemplation that Hermione was doing, but there is about to be a shift in relationships! Maybe James will finally make a _real_ move?

Please let me know what you thought of chapter sixteen and be on the lookout for seventeen next week!

* * *

Marlene personally thought that the amount of galleons in all of the Black family vaults were astonishing. She finally understood that Sirius wasn't just boasting when he'd talk about all of the riches that his family had. But, she was even more horrified to find that Bellatrix had all kinds of spells and enchantments on their vault that would deter thieves, as if they'd ever notice that something was taken.

When Marlene had accidentally bumped into a large stack of galleons, they began replicating at an alarming rate. The gold began to burn into her skin. Luckily, Sirius was there to pull her away from the money, before telling her with a grimace, "Doubling charm. She probably has it on nearly everything in here. Don't touch anything."

After that, Marlene was very careful to not touch anything, aware of all of her surroundings. They looked through stacks and piles of jewels and riches, but they were unable to find the Cup. "Maybe it's not here?" Marlene asked Sirius.

He frowned and shook his head, "No, I can feel it. It's in here." He looked unnerved. "It's making me want to crawl out of the skin. It's just like the last one."

Marlene hadn't been there when the last horcrux was destroyed, but she guessed she understood what Sirius meant. Being in this vault made her skin crawl, but she had just assumed that it was from being somewhere she knew that she shouldn't be. She didn't fancy running into Bellatrix. She remembered how mean she was in school, and the rumors were that she'd only got meaner.

Just when the pair were really starting to get frustrated, they were interrupted by an otter patronus swimming in with Hermione's voice, letting them know that Death Eaters were on their way, and they should hurry and secure the Cup.

Sirius sighed, annoyed with himself for not thinking of this earlier. "Accio Hufflepuff's Cup!" The cup flew from somewhere deep in the back of the vault, directly for Sirius. He sidestepped the horcrux, letting it clatter to the ground, unwilling to touch it. He used his wand to levitate the Cup into Marlene's open handbag.

Once it was secure, they rejoined the goblin outside of the vault, and instructed it to go back up to the top. They needed to help Hermione.

* * *

Hermione was surprised that Death Eaters were coming to Gringott's because it meant that they somehow knew that they were there. Or perhaps they were just there to do some banking? Hermione quickly shook that idea from her head because they wouldn't be there in their full regalia.

She was able to quickly dispatch one of the trio with an incarcerous, that sent the Death Eater back tumbling down the stairs, hitting his head several times, falling to the bottom unconscious. If the Death Eaters didn't think that she was a threat before, they certainly did now. "It must be her!" One of them said to the other.

It took her only a moment to realize that the curses they were sending her way were not just meant to incapacitate her, but to seriously hurt her. Maybe not kill, but definitely cause a lot of pain. She began firing back curses as quick as she could, but it was difficult to hit the two of them on her own.

Hermione was fighting with all of her might, just trying to give Marlene and Sirius as much time as possible to get the Cup. She didn't care what happened to her, as long as the horcruxes were destroyed. It had taken her a while, but when she finally came to terms with being stuck in this time, she promised that she would make the best possible future for the wizarding world. Her being alive wasn't crucial, but destroying Voldemort was.

So when she felt her arm being cut by a particularly nasty splitting curse, she didn't wince, she didn't cry, instead she fired off a stunning curse, sending the second Death Eater flying backwards several yards. She let confidence fill her before realizing that the last remaining Death Eater had sent a Cruciatus Curse her way.

Ducking just in time, Hermione really hoped that someone would show up to help her soon.

* * *

James was so annoyed with the Wizengamot today. Not only were they trying to pass some extremely prohibitive laws restricting werewolves - courtesy of Jovinus Parkinson - but they were trying to do it secretly by not announcing the meeting.

At least, James thought to himself, they hadn't reached a quorum today, so they hadn't been able to pass anything anyway, but now he was just convinced that it was a horrible waste of time. He sighed as he left the chambers where the Wizengamot argued their laws. He rubbed his hand over his face. James knew that most people didn't have a best friend who was a werewolf, so they didn't have any interaction with them on a daily basis, but honestly, some of the urban legends that circulated...

James made a little promise to himself to do everything he could to help Remus out because the rest of society was too backwards to understand that werewolves were normal people 27 days a month. And they just got a little bit furry the other day.

Suddenly, he was startled out of his musings seeing a silvery whisp shoot up in front of him, taking the form of a playful little otter. He was surprised to hear Hermione's voice come. " _James, Death Eaters at Gringott's. Please hurry._ "

Sudden fear gripped him. He never should have left Hermione alone, especially annoyed that his trip to the Wizengamot had been for nothing. He couldn't believe that he had left her all alone to fend for herself. He could never forgive himself if something happened to her.

Hurrying out of the Ministry, he moved aside so that he could apparate to the square where Gringott's was. When he got there, he found one Death Eater tied up at the bottom of the stairs of the bank and another one was flying past him. He looked up just in time to see a third Death Eater firing off Cruciatius Curses at Hermione. "Hermione!" He shouted, worried for her.

Catching the third Death Eater unawares, he sent a full body bind his way, running up to Hermione who was bleeding heavily from her arm. "Hermione, are you okay?" He asked, holding an arm tightly to her shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.

Before she could answer, Sirius and Marlene were running out of the bank. Seeing the three incapacitated Death Eaters, Sirius quickly went into auror mode and called for Shacklebolt and Moody. He shoved the Chanel bag into Hermione's arms. "Take this and get to Hogwarts. I will stay and deal with these three."

The trio of friends nodded, and James side-alonged Hermione to Hogsmeade, Marlene following close behind. He lead them through the tunnel in the Honeyduke's cellar, up into the castle. Marlene was marveling at the secret passage way, but Hermione was in too much pain to say anything.

When they made it into the castle, the found Dumbledore already waiting for them. He quickly ushered the trio into the unused classroom that they had used before to destroy the Diary. Things were a bit more tense this time, being that it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend, so there were many more students milling about. Dumbledore quickly went about putting up repelling charms to try to minimize the impact to the students.

Hermione set the bag on the table, and was about to reach in and grab the Cup when Marlene stopped her. "Wait, don't touch it. Sirius thinks that there might be a doubling charm on it!"

Hermione decided that she didn't want to chance it and allowed Marlene to removed the Cup from the bag using a levitating charm. Hermione winced, trying to get the vial of basilisk venom from her pocket, the wound in her arm really being much deeper than she expected.

Seeing Hermione in pain had James tensing, upset that he hadn't been able to keep her safe from harm. "Here, let me." Hermione tried to stamp down the butterflies that filled her belly when James's fingers touched her bare flesh.

James didn't waste any time unstoppering the vial, wanting to get rid of the horcrux so that he could get Hermione to Madame Pomfrey. He took a deep breath, not wanting to think of the horrible things that the horcrux would try to whisper in his ears.

Instead, the rushing sound of his blood was all that he focused on, letting drop after drop of the basilisk venom fall into the cup, until nearly half of the vial was gone. He watched in quiet satisfaction as the gold began to blister and pop, melting slowly into congealed dark green goo, until it finally disintegrated into dust.

With a sigh, James replaced the stopper in the vial and slipped it back into Hermione's pocket. It was nice to feel all of the tension leaving his body for a moment, before he remembered that they were not quite done yet. "Professor, do you mind if I take Hermione to see Madame Pomfrey. I know she's not a student, but...she's badly hurt."

Without waiting for Dumbledore's affirmative response, he took Hermione around the shoulders and walked her through the hallways, ignoring the curious stares of students who remembered him from the previous year. His stomach began to think as his mind conjured up images of Hermione dead on the steps of Gringott's. If he hadn't gotten there, who knows what would have happened to this lovely woman in his arms. Sure, she had taken down two of them on her own, but still...

He could bare to think about what life would be like without Hermione. He needed her, he realized that now, she had grown her way into his life and into his heart, and he couldn't bare to...

Before he could think on it much more, Madame Pomfrey was fussing over Hermione, taking off her shirt and revealing her bloody skin. James wasn't surprised to see another scar that dipped from her shoulder to her navel, as she'd already told him about how she'd gotten that from Dolohov.

Then Madame Pomfrey was cleaning the cut and rubbing essence of dittany on her wound, and Hermione was trying her absolute hardest not to cry out in pain at the stinging, but James could see the tears running down her cheeks. She was so brave, he thought, his heart clenching in admiration.

James took her uninjured hand in his own, and looked at her with a proud smile. Hermione smiled back in thanks, before squeezing the offered hand as her skin knitted itself back together. Before long, she looked right as rain, aside from the light bandage the nurse had wrapped around her shoulder.

Without thinking James leaned down and gave Hermione a kiss on the lips before quickly breaking away. "I'm so glad that you are okay. I was so worried when I saw you there. You did so great."

Hermione smiled, just glad to accept James's warm embrace. "Oh, fought some death eaters, destroyed a horcrux, all in a day's work."

James smiled back, before letting his face soften again. They really needed to talk. He couldn't stand to live in this limbo of a relationship with her any longer. "Alright, well, let's get you back to the flat. I really need to talk to you."


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Big thank you to everyone who favorited or followed after last chapter. Also, this has passed 200 reviews - I can't believe it! Thank you all so much! Big thanks to my reviewers from last chapter: lozzy035, unicornz . 334, winxgirl1997, Pwrmom2, xXMizz Alec VolturitXx, gottaloveva, masoxrista, twztdwildcat, animelover5107, laurmirot, chibi-Clar, Guest, SereniteRose and lee kadivar! You guys rock!

So everyone loved Hermione kicking some butt in the last chapter, but I think now it's time for the chapter you've all been waiting for ;) Two chapters after this one and then an epilogue.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter seventeen and be on the lookout for chapter eighteen later this week!

* * *

When Hermione and James returned to the flat, they found in blissfully empty. Hermione's heart was pounding in her chest, thinking over James's words that they needed to talk. Did he finally decide that she was more trouble than she was worse, seeing as she needed saving from Death Eaters? She hoped not, because she really valued James's friendship more than she could have ever expected.

Although she would never forget or have another friend like she'd had in Harry Potter, James Potter turned out to be an entirely different person than she would have imagined. Sure, he was arrogant, but he was a good friend and he really cared about others. She thought that she really cared about her, too.

Hermione never would have expected that she might start to develop romantic feelings for James Potter either, but every time she looked at him, her heart beat a little faster, and when he casually draped an arm around her, it felt like home.

James lead Hermione from the fireplace and moved her so that she might sit down on the couch. Then he went to the kitchen and fidgeted around in the cupboard that was charmed to keep cool. Is he avoiding me? Hermione thought to herself, frowning.

Before long, though, he returned with a pair of butterbeers, handing her one. Hermione took a drink if only to have something to do, something to distract her from how close James was sitting on the couch to her.

When she couldn't take the tension any longer, she cleared her throat. "So, you, uh, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

James set his butterbeer on the coffee table before turning to look directly at her. "I...Hermione, that is to say..." He ran his fingers through his messy black hair, and she was reminded of when Harry would try to talk to girls.

Hermione just knew that he was going to tell her he wanted her to move out.

But then, he surprised her. "Hermione, seeing you get hurt today made me realize some things. I guess I've had feelings for you a long time, and I just didn't realize how deep those feelings were until today." He looked at her imploringly with his bright hazel eyes.

It took Hermione's breath away to hear what he was saying. Did it mean he wanted more? Hermione felt her voice crack when she spoke. "I don't understand."

James gulped, taking her words as the beginning of a rejection, but yet, he kept his courage up. He promised himself he was going to tell her how he felt and he would do just that. "I like you Hermione, a lot, more than a friend, and...I guess, if you'd give me a chance, I'd like to see how we get along together. As a couple?"

Hermione felt her heart nearly beat out of her chest at his words. He liked her back? He wanted to be her boyfriend? She never imagined that he would return her feelings. Her mind filled in all the times that he'd hugged her or kissed her as evidence of his passion. But then, Severus Snape's words niggled in the back of her head. She didn't just want to be a stand in for Lily.

"James, I really like you too." She said with a soft smile, watching his face light up. "But, I don't just want to be a stand in for Lily, or someone for you to pass the time with."

She saw James's face screw up in hurt then, momentarily. "I don't...I don't want to get back with Lily, Hermione. She broke my heart, but, I have moved on." After a beat of silence, he continued. "When I saw that Death Eater, today, throwing curses at you, it made me think that you might not be in this world, and I couldn't imagine living in a world where I didn't come home to you."

Hermione couldn't think of what to say, so she decided being demonstrative was her best option. Leaning forward, she gently placed her lips on his, but this time it seemed different. It was almost as if an electricity wound it's way between their bodies, sparking something inside of them. Hermione pulled back, nervously, looking to James's face to see his reaction.

He had a huge grin on his face, and his eyes roved back and forth, as if trying to memorize her face. Finally, they fell to her lips and he pushed forward to kiss her again. As cliche as Hermione knew it sounded, she was amazed by how perfectly their lips fit together. Eager to take things further, Hermione ran her tongue along the seam of James's lips, coaxing him into opening up to her.

When their tongues met, Hermione was reminded of the time in Malfoy Manor, when James had pressed her against the bookshelves and snogged her until she was breathless. She wanted more of him. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she moved so that she was straddling his lap, pressed intimately against him.

James groaned, feeling her warm center pressed against him. He could feel the heat of her even through the layer of her jeans. He felt himself quickly hardening, and was surprised to feel Hermione pressing against him, in small circular motions, rubbing her body against him. With the slight space between them, James pushed his hands up the front of her shirt, delighting at the soft feel of her skin, before sliding up further to cup her breasts over her bra. Hearing Hermione moan into his mouth, and her nipples tighten beneath the smooth fabric was more heavenly than he ever imagined.

Suddenly, they heard a pair of keys jingling outside of the flat, in the hallway, and they broke apart somewhat guiltily. Sure, Sirius wasn't home now, but neither one of them fancied him walking in on them, on the couch. James removed his hands from Hermione's shirt, his cheeks slightly pink, before looking up at her hopefully. "Would you like to move this to my room?"

Hermione's breath caught in her throat. Did she really want to do this with James Potter? Smiling, she told him emphatically, yes. Standing from his lap, Hermione lead the way down the hallway to James's room. Pushing open the door, she wasn't surprised to see a typical boy's room, messy bed unmade.

James looked sheepish, before apologizing. "I, uh, didn't plan on doing this today." He offered.

Hermione didn't mind, and pulled him close to her body so that she might kiss him again. Looking up at his face, she wrapped her arms around his neck, encouraging him to bend over so that she could reach his lips. Once they were connected again, James slowly began edging her backwards, until she was tumbling back against his pillows.

Hermione watched as James crawled across the bed to lay on top of her, his unfamiliar weight a welcome presence. She pulled his head back down to kiss her again; she never wanted to be parted from him. Before long, he was breaking away so that he could pepper kisses down the column of her throat, playing particular attention to her neck, before returning back up to catch her earlobe between his lips. Hermione couldn't contain the pleasurable shivers that raced up and down her spine.

She began tugging on his shirt, pulling it up over his head, desperate to feel his bare skin against her own. Hermione let her fingers trace down the lean muscle that was finally revealed, delighting in how his muscles seemed to jump under her fingertips.

James then was pulling her shirt up, albeit a bit awkwardly with her still healing shoulder. When her shirt was dropped next to the bed on the floor, he kissed all over the pink skin of her shoulder, whispering to her about how impressed he was with her. Pulling back, he couldn't keep his eyes from her breasts, covered by nude lace. He remembered the time he walked in on her, how sexy she looked ensconced in her bed. It was an image that he had dreamed about often.

He traced his fingers over her nipples, delighting in feeling her pink nipples tighten into hard little peaks under the fabric, but now he wanted to see all of her. He reached behind her to unclasp her bra, revealing her breasts to him completely. He thought he couldn't get harder than he was, to see her so gorgeous, perfect.

Using his fingers, he plucked at her nipples, watching her face to see exactly what she liked, rolling and pinching until she was moaning, and shoving her hands down to the edge of his jeans. Finally navigating the zip and button, she was shoving his pants down over his hips. She palmed his cock through his boxers, which had him moaning in equal measure.

James then, with shaking fingers, divested her of her jeans, taking her panties with them, so that she was finally completely bare to him. He let his fingers trace down her stomach and finally slip between the seam of her legs, unable to contain his groan. "Merlin, Hermione, you are so wet. Are you sure that this is what you want? I don't think I will be able to give you up." He admitted, praying that she wouldn't turn him down.

Hermione bit her lip, feeling a bit wanton, but his finger felt so good, rubbing her clit in tight circles, making her insides clench, desperate for him. "Yes, James, I want you. I need you inside of me."

Not needing any more encouragement, he kicked of her boxers and grasped his cock in his hand, rubbing it against her, lubricating it with her essence, before lining up with her opening. Staring down at her brown eyes, nearly swallowed whole by her pupil, James thrust forward, sighing at the feeling of her warmth yielding to him.

Taking a moment for her to adjust, and for himself to keep it together so that he didn't come right away like a fifth year, James took a moment to breath in her scent. She smelled sweet and spicy and like Hermione. He felt her fingers in his hair, as she pulled him to kiss her again. Happily, James let his tongue caress her own.

When he finally felt he had a handle on the situation, he pulled out of her, only to thrust back into her, leading to their mutual satisfaction. Before long, they had found a rhythm that suited both of them, Hermione wrapping her legs around his body to pull him closer to her body with each thrust. She felt like heaven around him, her walls fluttering against him with each thrust and he knew that she was close. He slipped his hand between them so that he could rub against her little clit, helping to bring her over the edge.

Hermione felt herself getting closer and closer until she was desperate to come, and she was pleading with James to just go a little harder. Soon, the combined friction of his finger against her clit and the persistent strokes of his cock had her coming around him, eyes clenched shut and toes curled. She was dizzy with pleasure and couldn't stop herself from crying out his name.

Hearing her call his name had James so close, so with just a few more shallow thrusts, he was following her into ecstasy, collapsing against her, his body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Not wanting to crush her, he rolled over, pulling Hermione with him so that she rested against his chest.

Hermione could feel his heart hammering against her ear, and couldn't help from smiling. Overflowing with emotion, she felt like she had to make a confession. "James?"

"Hm?" He asked her sleepily.

"I think I'm falling in love with you." She whispered, unable to keep the little smile from her face. She felt his heart beat faster at her words.

"Good." He said, dipping his head to kiss her on the top of the head. "Because I think I am falling in love with you, too." She could tell how serious he was by the tone of his voice, but he couldn't keep serious for long. "And I plan on showing you just how much once I get some rest."

Hermione couldn't help but giggle at his promise, excited at the prospect, but soon, she felt her own eyes drifting shut.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who favorited and followed after last chapter - nearly 450 follows! Big thanks to my reviewers from last chapter: lozzy035, unicornz . 334, winxgirl1997, apriljunemay, SereniteRose, twztdwildcat, Pwrmom2, Guest, skydancer2ooo, Charlie0925, jmullinax, chibi-Clar, blackcreed11, animelover5107, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx! You guys rock!

I hope everyone is okay with the character direction this chapter takes. I would love to hear what you think of chapter eighteen and be on the lookout for nineteen early next week!

* * *

Hermione had been delighted to wake up in James's arms the next morning, and after they had made love once again, she conceded that it was finally time to get up for the day. At the very least, they needed breakfast, but more importantly, they had a final horcrux to find. Hermione quickly found her knickers and replaced them, and deciding to be a bit cheeky, wore only one of James's large Puddlemere United shirt.

James slipped into a pair of pajama pants before leading Hermione into the kitchen with a yawn. Together, they set about preparing scrambled eggs, fried tomato, sausage and toast - a veritable feast. Hermione found it a bit difficult to concentrate, as James was constantly trying to steal kisses from her while she worked.

They were giggling together when Sirius came in through the floo. He silently crept to the kitchen, before resting on the door frame, watching his friend. He was so glad that James was finally getting some happiness, as he remembered how bad it had been post Lily. "Well, it's about time." He said with a smirk.

Hermione twirled around looking guiltily, while James just gave his friend a proud smirk, which Sirius returned. "Were the pair of you ever going to tell me or was I just going to have to listen to Prongs' bed hit the wall tonight?"

Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair, suddenly embarrassed that she hadn't put pants on. Of course they didn't live there alone. "It's a recent development." She squeaked out, before pushing past Sirius to return to her room, to find some suitable clothing.

When she returned to the kitchen, James and Sirius were sitting at the table, a third untouched plate of breakfast waiting for her. She got the distinct feeling that they had been talking about her, but luckily, Sirius didn't tease her after she got to the table. Instead, he was told them about how the three Death Eaters were now in custody.

James then told Sirius about how the destruction of the horcrux had gone, and how he hoped Marlene hadn't been too affected by it. Judging by Sirius's lascivious grin, Marlene hadn't needed too much comforting, and they had instead celebrated their engagement. Sirius still insisted that wedding bells would be far off, not until after Voldemort was defeated, but the pair could tell that their friend was very happy.

Hermione began to think about where the ring could be, while her _boyfriend_ \- she couldn't stop the warm feeling in her chest at that - and her friend discussed how Sirius should break it to Walburga that he was now in charge of the family. All of the other horcruxes had been more or less where they should be, according to future events. So the ring should be fairly easy to find.

Except it wasn't easy to find. In her time, Professor Dumbledore had found the ring and destroyed it on his own. According to Harry, Dumbledore was not well before he died at the end of her sixth year, and apparently, his arm had been gravely injured in the process of destroying or finding the horcrux. Reason would then suggest that Dumbledore would be able to find the ring again in this time.

Suddenly, Hermione got a very ominous feeling. She'd never given much thought to _how_ Dumbledore had gotten injured trying to destroy the ring. Further, she knew that Dumbledore's past was not as squeaky clean as she'd believed as a student. He had been friends, or perhaps more with Grindelwald, after all. Perhaps Dumbledore could not be trusted with the ring.

"What are you brooding about?" Sirius asked with a smile on his face. Hermione hadn't realized that she'd been staring at her toast for several minutes, a frown marring her features.

Hermione bit her lip, unsure of how much to reveal to the boys about her theory. "I was just thinking of where the last horcrux could be." She said, before continuing on the middle path. "I think that we need to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore."

"I don't know, Hermione. We read all the books on the Gaunts like you asked. We might just have to wait, or get Voldemort to move it and locate it then." James told her, equally worried about having a little piece of Voldemort's soul hanging out still.

Hermione bit her lip, wanting to tell James more about Dumbledore in her time, but unwilling to go through all of the conversation with Sirius of how she knew these things. "I just mean...Dumbledore is quite old. He might remember things about the family that aren't in books." She looked at him, her brown eyes imploring him to understand what she meant.

"She does have a point." Sirius conceded. "Let's go after breakfast." He offered.

James frowned, but agreed. "And after showers." He said with a wink to Hermione.

* * *

They didn't owl ahead to let the Headmaster know that they were coming, opting instead to walk in from Hogsmeade. They skipped using the secret passage this time, instead taking the winding path past Hagrid's hut.

When they got to the main doors, they were stopped by Professor McGonagall, surprised to see her former students, but happy to escort them to the Headmaster's office. After climbing the winding staircase, they were warmly welcomed by Headmaster Dumbledore, who offered tea and lemon drops.

"What brings the three of you here today?" Dumbledore finally asked. "I hadn't expected to see you after the excitement of yesterday."

Hermione decided to lead the conversation as she was essentially the reason they were there. "Professor, we are here because we'd like to talk about the last horcrux. The Gaunt ring." She said gently, watching Dumbledore's face carefully as took in her words.

"We've read all of the books, but couldn't come up with where it might be." Sirius offered.

Hermione, remembering what she'd learned from Harry, tried to stir the conversation towards the future, knowing that Dumbledore would understand her meaning. "I thought that you mentioned before that you had spoken to Morfin Gaunt once before, so we thought that you might have some insight."

Dumbledore's bushy eyebrows drew together, clearly understanding her words. "Morfin Gaunt. No, I can't say that I have spoken to him before." He insisted. He was very uncomfortable with the way that this conversation was going, and gently set his wand hand on top of the desk.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "I thought that you had visited him in Azkaban when you thought he might know where the ring was?" She was trying to be as gentle as possible, but noticed Dumbledore's cagey behavior, and felt her body tighten in tension at the prospect of what was to come.

James also stiffened in the chair next to her. "Are you alright, sir? You seem...off." He said, his concern growing over the situation.

Hermione watched as Dumbledore's hand twitched and his eyes darted to the drawers at the side of the desk. "Preposterous." Dumbledore responded, even though it didn't really answer James's question.

Hermione could practically feel the guilty energy that was rolling off of Dumbledore, and finally decided to ask the question that she'd been dreading. "Sir, did you already find the ring? Is it here in this room?"

Dumbledore stood abruptly. "Now, see here, I will not have you throwing around those kind of accusations."

That was evidence enough for Hermione who stood herself. "Accio Gaunt Ring!" She called, and they heard the rattling of an object in one of the drawers of the desk. "How long have you had it, sir?"

James and Sirius now stood as well, knowing that something was going horribly wrong. Dumbledore's face transformed into a contemptuous sneer. "Since October. I am surprised it took you so long to figure it out. You are supposed to be so bright."

"We need to destroy it, sir." Hermione said firmly. "This whole time you've had it, it has been whispering to you, burrowing into your psyche. It makes you promises, but it can't possibly keep them. Trust me. I know this. I had one for months." She was firm but calm and began to move around the desk so that she might take control of the ring.

"Destroy it? Never!" Dumbledore said, his hand shooting down to open the top draw and remove the ring from it. "You don't understand what it is!"

Once Hermione saw the ring, she knew. "It's the resurrection stone." She whispered, surprised. "You know that it won't work. It won't bring her back, sir. Not to mention, the ring is cursed."

Dumbledore's blue eyes looked crazed, but James and Sirius seemed too stunned to help her in any capacity. "Ariana deserves a second chance. I killed her and she needs a second chance." He held the ring possessively in his hand.

Seeing that he was going to try to put it on, Hermione lunged at him, knocking the pair of them to the ground. "No, sir! Don't!" She called out to him, as he tried to put the ring on his finger. She grabbed at his arm, trying to pull it back, but even in his advanced age, the pull of the horcrux was too strong, and Hermione watched helplessly as Dumbledore put the ring on.

Instantly, she watched as he cried out in pain at the curse entering his body. Dumbledore desperately wrenched the ring from his finger and Hermione snatched it out of his hand, standing. "No! Please, give it back!" He cried as the ring was taken from him.

Hermione knew that the curse would spread, but removing the influence of the ring was the best thing for everyone right now. Shoving her hand into her beaded bag, she pulled the last of the basilisk venom from her bag and unstoppered it. She set the ring on the table and poured the remaining liquid over the ring, watching as it hissed and cried before melting it."

James and Sirius were helping Dumbledore stand from the floor. "What the hell, Hermione? What did you do to him?" Sirius asked, upset to see his former headmaster in pain and on the ground.

"I didn't do it to him." Hermione told them sadly. "Even Dumbledore wasn't strong enough to resist the pull of the horcrux." She said, before picking up Dumbledore's wand, handing it to him. "I believe you know how to slow the spread?"

Dumbledore nodded, before sadly taking the wand. He began wordless working on his arm to stop the spread of the curse, but Hermione already knew that this would be the demise of Dumbledore. "Will one of you call for Snape?" She asked, hesitant to leave Dumbledore's side even though the last horcrux had been destroyed.

James hesitated before going to the Floo and calling to Lily's flat, where he knew that Snape would be. The confused potions' master was surprised to see James's sad face in the fire, but he could tell by his muted demeanor that this was serious and not a time for petty squabbles.

James stepped aside so that Snape and Lily could walk through the floo, the pair surprised to see their former Headmaster looking so ragged. Hermione decided to give Dumbledore a little bit of dignity, so she didn't let them know that he'd been hoarding the horcrux. "We were trying to get rid of the last horcrux, but it fought back. Headmaster Dumbledore has been cursed."

"So, why call for me? Surely you should get a curse breaker?" Severus asked her, surprised to be treated nicely, like an ally, by this girl who he didn't know well. It seemed that she trusted him.

Hermione bit her lip, unable to explain the situation without giving away the information that she was from the future, so she chose to lie. "I just thought that you might be able to come up with a potion, to...stop the spread of the curse. Dumbledore has been able to contain it for now, but maybe you can give him a few more months?" She asked awkwardly.

Snape nodded, before moving over to look at his former Headmaster's arm.

James, able to tell how much this bothered his new girlfriend, wrapped her up in his arms. "I couldn't save him either." Hermione whispered to him guiltily, tears welling in her eyes.

Just when things were calming down, an unexpected guest burst through the doors to the Headmaster's office. "You have to come quick! He-who-must-not-be-named is in Hogsmeade!"


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who favorited or followed after last chapter! Huge thanks to my reviewers: DarylDixon'sLover, morethanbooks, ayuzachan, Pwrmom2, winxgirl1997, unicornz . 334, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, SereniteRose, twztdwildcat, Gloriar1981, lozzy035, chibi-Clar, masoxrista, animelover5107, love is overrated, and mrdharfn!

So this is the last chapter and the next will be epilogue. I hope you enjoy, but apologies in advanced as I am not the greatest at writing battle scenes. Also, I got a tumblr and am trying that out - I'm called nauticalparamour there. One other thing I am excited to announce - my next story is called Lovefool, it's a Marcus/Hermione. I will be posting one chapter a day from February 1 to 14. I hope that you will check that out when it comes out!

Please let me know what you think of chapter nineteen and be on the lookout for chapter twenty later this week!

* * *

James felt his arms tighten reflexively around Hermione as his old friend Peter Pettigrew burst into the room. Ever since the last time he'd seen Peter, Hermione's knowledge that he would betray their friendship had been niggling in the back of his mind. Further, he had never gotten a chance to delve into what happened in Hermione's time with her more deeply.

He was sad to admit that he'd become deeply suspicious about his friend and his long absences, the way that he never showed his arms anymore, and now the convenient timing of his arrival. Was Wormtail trying to lure them out?

Even if he was, he thought that there was no better time to face Voldemort, as he was finally mortal again, with his final horcrux having been destroyed. Still, he felt a stab of nerves in his belly. Now, he had more than just himself to think about. He wanted to keep Hermione safe, as well as the rest of the wizarding world. They deserved to live in a world where they didn't have to worry about dark wizards.

Sirius was actually the first to speak, looking at his mousy friend in confusion. "Pete, mate, what are you doing here?"

"Why does it matter why I am here? Didn't you hear me? Death Eaters are attacking Hogsmeade! We need to go help them now." Peter said, his watery eyes darting from person to person, before settling on Hermione.

"Lily, you stay here and call the rest of the Order." Sirius commanded before leading the rest of them from the room. Severus was trying to get Dumbledore to stay in the castle, but the old Headmaster was insistent that he go help.

Against his better judgement, James found himself following Sirius and Peter from the Headmaster's office and out of the school, with Hermione following close behind him, with her hand held tightly around her wand. It was a rag tag group, with Snape and Dumbledore following close behind them, and Lily running to catch up with them.

Before they exited the school, James stopped short, pulling Hermione to him. "Wait, before we go, I just want you to know that I do love you, Hermione. And I am going to do whatever I can to keep you safe." He told her, his hazel eyes full of emotion.

Hermione's gaze softened, and then, she pulled him in for a toe curling kiss that seared his very soul, not caring who saw them. "Likewise. Just know, whatever happens today, I just want you to be happy." Knowing they couldn't wait any longer, they left the school, together.

Immediately upon leaving the castle, they could see the sickening morsmordre moving in sky, the black coils of smoke moving against each other. The sight made James's skin crawl. He couldn't remember a time that he'd ever been so nervous. He didn't know if he could do this. But then he remembered Hermione's smile when she woke up in his bed that morning, and he knew that he had to try his best.

They were running towards Hogsmeade, and began to hear the screams before they could even see any of the carnage. There was smoke billowing up from some the buildings, and the few inhabitants who lived in Hogsmeade Village year round were running about, trying to hold their own against the Death Eaters. Luckily, it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend, so the students were all safely in the castle.

Their friends immediately began firing spells at the Death Eaters, quickly gaining their attention. James was surprised to see that the Death Eaters didn't even bother to hide their identities this time, bolstered by the presence of their leader. James was certain he saw Lucius Malfoy, Old Nott, Dolohov, the Lestrange Brothers, Bellatrix. It seemed that all of the big players were out.

And at the center of all of the chaos stood Voldemort, his skin waxy and yellowing. James supposed that he might have been handsome at one point, but now, he was terrifying to behold, with red eyes. He conjured fiendfyre at will, laughing as the people of Hogsmeade ran around like ants.

James quickly found himself engaged in a duel with Dolohov, trading curses in rapid succession. He had quickly learned that the Death Eaters didn't play fair and wouldn't limit themselves to acceptable spells in a duel, so he wouldn't either. Dolohov and he were well matched, but he was momentarily distracted by Sirius.

Sirius was fighting both his cousin Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange. James hardly thought two on one was fair, so he quickly sent a stunning spell Rodolphus's way. He smiled at Sirius's call of thanks. "Nice one, James!" His friend told him in appreciation. James narrowly missed a killing curse thrown his way by Dolohov. He needed to focus. Quickly, slashing his wand, he sent a slicing curse towards Dolohov, knocking him back on his arse.

James turned around and saw Lucius locked in a battle with Snape. Lily was lying hurt on the ground, but was quickly regaining her bearings. "I can't believe you would throw away everything that we've given you, Severus. And for what? A bit of mudblood cunt?" Lucius asked with his biting tone.

"I love her. I've always loved her. She is all I ever wanted." Severus insisted quietly, clearly not glad to have his business aired to everyone in the clearing.

"And here I always thought it was just an odd fetish. I thought you were one of us." Lucius sent a nasty blood boiling curse at Snape, but Snape deflected it with ease. "But then again, you are just a filthy half-blood." Snape went on the offensive then.

Feeling that Snape had the situation under control, James looked around the rest of the town. When were the rest of the Order going to show up? They really needed the backup. They could use at least five other people. With the members that they had right now, they were barely hanging on.

James looked around further, trying to find the curly hair of Hermione. Soon, he locked onto her location, and saw her being subtly herded by Peter towards Voldemort. James watched horrified as Voldemort began walking towards Hermione, who was unable to see him. Desperate to warn her, he called out to her. "Hermione! Behind you!"

But his words distracted her momentarily from her duel, and she was hit with a slicing hex, her little beaded bag falling to the ground. Before she could register what had happened, she was wrapped up Voldemort. Feeling the sudden unwanted embrace by Voldemort, Hermione began to struggle and kick to get away from him. "Thank you, Wormtail, for delivering _Hermione_ to me." He practically crooned into her ear.

Voldemort spun her around, so that he could look at her face. "So you are the little bitch that has been destroying my horcruxes." He stared at her face with disdain. "You look rather unremarkable."

"It didn't stop me from destroying all of your horcruxes." She spat at him. Still, trying to get away from him. She couldn't imagine being held in such mock intimacy from such an evil wizard. "We got rid of the Ring just this afternoon. And do you want to know how? We used venom from your precious basilisk."

Hermione watched as Voldemort's face twisted in rage. "Did you like the little curse that I left on the ring?" He asked her, smirking, showing off his uneven teeth when Hermione flinched. "Yes, it seems that your precious Headmaster won't be around much longer."

Hermione didn't say anything, instead just pulling away. When she stomped on Voldemort's foot, she nearly got free from his grasp, only to have him pull her back towards him. "But the real thing that I want to know, _Hermione,_ is how you knew exactly where to look?"

"Maybe you are just more predictable than you like to think." Hermione told him, eyebrows raised in challenge. But then she realized her mistake, by making eye contact with him, she'd given him access to her mind.

She was helpless to the intrusion of her mind. Voldemort peeled through the years ruthlessly, leaving no memory untouched. It was painful to watch all of the happy times with Harry, and all of the hard times in the tent, when she thought everything was helpless, the toxicity of keeping a horcrux around her neck for hours at a time. When Voldemort finally left her mind, he looked at her again with one of those sickening smiles. "So, you are from the future."

Hermione looked around, hoping that no one heard his words.

James, meanwhile, couldn't stand by and watch Hermione be manhandled by Voldemort. He began marching to the pair, only to be confronted by Peter. "I can't let you do this James." His old friend told him, with a grim smile on his face.

"Why are you doing this Peter? How could you ever join such a man?" James asked, letting his hurt bleed into his voice. Seven years of friendship erased by one decision. "And to lead us out here, so that we might be killed."

"You don't understand, James. The Dark Lord has power beyond imagining." Peter gushed. "And he is going to help right society, putting purebloods like us back on top. I know you'd come around. I thought, that when you and Lily broke up, you were beginning to understand, but then you found this new mudblood."

"How can you say this?" James asked, unable to see even traces of his old friend any more. "Blood status is meaningless, Peter. I am done with this." James raised his wand so that he might stun Peter.

Before he could get the spell off though, Peter cast a disarming spell, and caught James's wand in his outstretched hand. However, unable to cause James further harm, Peter waffled for a minute, before turning tail and running away.

Wandless, James looked around for something that he could help Hermione with, before finally spotting the little beaded bag that Hermione always had with her lying on the ground. It looked so small, it couldn't possibly hold the answer, but something told him to look in it anyway. Putting his hand inside, he found it much deeper than it looked. "Undetectable extension charm." He whispered to himself, taking a moment to appreciate Hermione's brilliance.

He reached around in the bag, hoping, pleading for something that would help them. It took him a few seconds, but he eventually felt something like a handle and grasped it, pulling it from the bag. James was surprised to see a long sword, silver handle inlaid with rubies. "The sword of Gryffindor?" He asked himself, feeling his heart swell with pride.

Legend had it that the sword only presented itself to a worthy Gryffindor. He felt his body fill with courage, and he knew with the sword in his hand he could defeat Voldemort. Raising the sword over his head, he ran at Voldemort, where he was holding Hermione, coming at the pair from behind. Before he could give it a second thought, he ran the blade through Voldemort's back. Voldemort never even saw him coming.

Hermione felt Voldemort's grasp on her slacken, and his eyes widen in surprise, before blood bubbled up from his mouth. Taking a step back from him, she saw the tip of a sword sticking from his chest. Voldemort then fell to his knees, surprise permanently etched on his face, only to reveal James standing behind him, breathing heavily.

James didn't hesitate to close the gap between him and Hermione, and wrapped her up in his arm. Just then, they heard the pops of apparition all around them as the rest of the Order began arriving and getting a hold of any remaining Death Eaters. "It's over?" Hermione asked James, surprised.

"Yes, it's over." James told her, shock beginning to set in. "I killed Voldemort."

Hermione smiled. "You did it James! You killed Voldemort, and with the sword of Gryffindor." She felt tears of happiness well up in her eyes. "I can't believe it's over. I don't even know what to do now that I'm not fighting against Voldemort. I have been fighting him for eight years."

James pulled back, giving her a quick kiss on the lips, before letting that arrogant smirk that Hermione had grown to love slipped into place on his face. "Well, I can think of one thing that we could do, if you'd like to accompany me to my room?"


	20. Chapter 20

**D** isclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: This is it - the final chapter! Please let me know if there was anything I missed/anyone you wanted to learn more about. This story was much more than I could have expected! Huge thank you to everyone who favorited/followed! Big thanks to all of my reviewers and to those who reviewed last chapter: Bentears, winxgirl1997, lozzy035, Brian1972, blackcreed11, twztdwildcat, Pwrmom2, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, SereniteRose, alexandra . arias9054, xliberte, chibi-Clar, Hollowg1rl and animelover5107! You guys rock so much and it really does encourage writing! Big thanks to **everlastingtrueromance,** who requested that I write a James/Hermione story. Without the request, I certainly wouldn't have come up with this.

Please check out some of my other stuff - I have a Rabastan/Hermione story out right now. I will begin posting a Marcus/Hermione Valentine's themed story on Monday as well. Check out my tumblr for a sneak preview of that story tomorrow: **nauticalparamour.** Also, check out my profile for other future stories that I am working on!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty! Thanks for the support!

* * *

 **Nineteen years later**

Hermione was gathering her purse when her husband snuck up behind her, snaking his arms around her waist and kissing her on the cheek. "Are you ready to go, my love?" He asked her, cheekily.

If there was something that James Potter never failed to be, it was cheeky. "Yes. Do the children have their trunks together?"

Before he could answer, the pair of their children came stomping down the stairs of their little house, carrying their trunks behind them.

Sirius had been the first to move out of their flat, after he married Marlene, the summer after they defeated Voldemort. He had been insistent that they would have a long engagement, but after being kept in the hospital wing for a week after taking a curse from Bellatrix, Sirius had found a new desire to make things more permanent with Marlene.

Things had been difficult, even after the defeat of Voldemort. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange had been arrested after the battle, while Dolohov and Rabastan Lestrange were killed. Dumbledore died only a few months after the battle, leaving everyone saddened at his passing, but leaving Hermione with mixed emotions. She never forgave herself for not stopping another death. Rodolphus Lestrange had gotten away, and was on the run for over a year before he was finally caught by Aurors. Moody was only too happy to bring him in. Peter Pettigrew took the longest to find, seeing as he had been living in his animagus form. It wasn't until Hermione ran into the Weasleys in Diagon Alley that she found him. Percy showed off his brand new rat, called Scabbers, and Hermione quickly took custody of the man, sending him off to the Aurors, and later to Azkaban prison.

Hermione and James remained in the flat, living there with Remus long after Sirius had moved out. That was, until James proposed to Hermione shortly after her birthday the year after she arrived. He'd taken her to see QPR play West Ham United, even though they'd been relegated the season prior (which was a whole other conversation with James, who suggested that they relegate the Chudley Cannons for being so terrible). QPR had won the match in exciting fashion, scoring three goals and keeping a clean sheet. After the game, they went to a pub not far from Loftus Road and James proposed to her, surrounded by cheering muggles.

They were married in a small ceremony the following spring, surrounded by friends. After that, they moved into a cottage not far from where Sirius lived, and insisted that Remus continue living in the flat, as it was already paid for.

Sirius was the first to become a father, welcoming a son in June of 1980, named Regulus. He had his brother had regained a great relationship, much to the dismay of Walburga, who was none too happy about having Sirius brought back into the fold, especially with a new Lady Black.

Hermione and James followed soon after, having a son in November of 1981. Although they would be in different years at Hogwarts, the boys were still very close and spent most of their time together. James and Hermione had settled on the name Henry, as it was James's grandfather's name. James had offered to name their son Harry, but Hermione refused, knowing that it wouldn't be the same boy that she grew up with. Henry grew up with James's unmanageable hair, although it was Hermione's shade of brown, and hazel eyes.

Two years later, Hermione gave birth to a daughter called Imogen, named after Hermione's grandmother, in the same tradition. Imogen had long black hair that was as curly as her mother's, but with Hermione's light brown eyes.

Sirius and Marlene welcomed a set of twin girls the year after Imogen was born, called Andromeda - after Sirius's aunt - and Delphinia.

Remus had always remained single, until 1991, when he met a young auror called Nymphadora Tonks. Sirius was a little put out that Remus was after his baby cousin, but then he quickly learned that it was Tonks who was calling all the shots in their relationship, and Remus was mostly just along for the ride. When he was offered a teaching position at Hogwarts in 1993, he finally proposed, and the two quickly started a family, welcoming Teddy Lupin into the fold in 1995.

Hermione sighed into James's embrace, thinking about their relationship. The idea that she could find such love with James Potter seemed preposterous, but she couldn't help but fall straight into his arms when they met each other. They had been through so much in the fight against Voldemort that it only served to strengthen their love.

"Ew, mum, dad, can't you wait until you ship us off to Hogwarts to do that?" Henry asked from the doorway, not entirely comfortable with the PDA.

Hermione just smirked at her husband before turning to face her children. "Well, shall we head to the station?" She asked. Seeing a pair of nods, Hermione and James each took one of their children by the arm to apparate directly onto the platform.

As soon as they arrived, Henry began looking around for his parents' friends. "Did Sirius say that Regulus would be coming today?" He asked. Regulus had been off living with his uncle and namesake in France for the previous year, trying to get some experience, as he wanted to be a solicitor, as he had already graduated Hogwarts. Regulus Black, Sirius's brother, had been granted a full pardon for being a Death Eater, given the great service he'd performed in helping destroy one of Voldemort's horcruxes.

"I think he should be here." Hermione told her son, knowing that he was bummed about having to go to Hogwarts for a whole year without his best friend. She looked around the platform, hoping to catch a glimpse of their friends. Instead, she caught sight of Harry Snape, a brooding boy with a large nose and bright green eyes, with his arm around his girlfriend, Ginny Weasley.

Although James and Hermione never became friends with Lily and Severus Snape, who had married a year after James and Hermione, Hermione did find some solace in the fact that she was able to return Harry to Ginny, even if he wasn't _exactly_ the same as he was when she left her own time.

As for young Hermione Granger, born in 1979, Hermione had waited until Regulus's first year to look for her. When she found no sign of her at the train station, Hermione finally allowed herself to return to her own house. She found that Hermione Granger was not a witch, and instead was a high achieving muggle student. All of her research indicated that as soon as she appeared in this time, young Hermione's life path had been changed.

Just then, she caught sight of Sirius and his family. Delphinia and Andy (as she was called), both shared Sirius's dark curls and gray eyes, but Regulus was a bit of a surprise. He maintained the lovely golden blonde hair color of Marlene, but still had Sirius's mercurial gray eyes and striking good looks.

The two families met and hugs were had all around. Hermione watched with mirth as Regulus's eyes widened at the sight of Imogen. "Wow, Imogen, you look...great." He said, not the normally suave boy that he was.

Seeing Imogen's cheeks turn bright pink in response had James huffing. He sidled up next to Sirius, only to glare at his oldest friend. "Oi, your son better keep his hands off my little girl. She's not even sixteen yet." He hissed.

Sirius grinned at James's protective reaction. "Well, I guess that I deserve this, seeing as I freaked out pretty bad at Moony."

Before they could discuss things further, the train whistle blew and it was time for the four children to get on board the Hogwarts Express. "You'll be good, won't you?" Hermione asked as she squeezed her two children tightly.

"Of course, mum." Henry told her with a smile. "And we will be sure to write at least once a week."

Satisfied that they would be well taken care of, Hermione let her children go, before turning to hug James. "Oh, I am always so sad once they leave, I wish that I had something to take my mind off of it." She whispered.

"Well, darling, I think I might know something that would help you pass the time, that is, if you'll agree to apparate back to my room with me?" James asked her, same arrogant smirk as all those years ago.

Somethings, it seemed, would never change.


End file.
